Hajj 2024: Govt’s sponsorship scheme faces ‘slow response’

ISLAMABAD: With the deadline for Hajj 2024 applications looming, the Ministry of Religious Affairs was facing a ‘slow response’ to its sponsorship scheme as the incumbent government only received 2,800 applications, ARY News reported on Sunday.

The government has allocated 25,000 seats in the ‘Sponsorship Scheme Hajj’, introduced by the government this year, allowing overseas Pakistanis to apply for Hajj or sponsor someone in Pakistan for the journey by paying in US dollars. In return, applicants would not have to participate in the balloting process.

Saudi Arabia had restored Pakistan’s pre-coronavirus Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and lifted the upper age limit of 65 years to perform the pilgrimage.

The quota for Pakistanis performing the pilgrimage under the government’s scheme next year is 89,605, with the pilgrimage expected to cost Rs1,075,000 per head.

However, the government has only received 2,800 Haj applications in the sponsorship scheme – coupled with 58,000 applications received under the regular scheme.

With such a low application count in the sponsorship scheme, the Ministry of Religious Affairs — after approaching interior and foreign ministries — has also sought assistance Ministry of Information and also reached out to overseas Pakistanis.

The ministry has asked the information department to apprise overseas Pakistanis of the procedure for receiving Hajj applications.

The development came as the incumbent government had extended the Hajj application deadline by 10 days from December 12 to 22 earlier this week.

The applications can be submitted on a passport valid till December 16, 2024, and the Hajj application can also be processed on a passport application token.

To attract pilgrims, the government has introduced both long and short-term packages spanning over 38 to 42 and 20 to 25 days, respectively.

Meanwhile, women, for the first time, can undertake the sacred journey without the traditional requirement of a male companion. Furthermore, the government would provide free-of-cost mobile SIMs with roaming internet packages.