ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif said that Saudi Arabia’s authorities would be approached and requested to facilitate 67,000 Pakistanis, whose participation in Hajj 2025 seems unlikely due to delays in agreements and payments to the Saudi government.
Chairing a meeting on the issue, the prime minister said that every possible effort would be made to resolve the issue and ensure the pilgrims’ journey to the holy sites.
Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, members of Senate’s Standing Committee on Religious Affairs, and the Hajj Organizers Association of Pakistan (HOAP) representatives also attended the meeting.
PM Shehbaz expressed his displeasure over the Hajj crisis and directed the authorities to take all possible steps to resolve the issue. He assured the delegation that he would take up the matter with Saudi authorities to obtain permission for the pilgrims under the private quota.
The prime minister expressed his distress over the issue, saying it was a matter of shame for them. He directed the authorities to contact Saudi officials to facilitate the pilgrims.
The delegation apprised the prime minister of the situation and requested his intervention to send the pilgrims to Hajj 2025.
Read More: 67,000 Pakistani pilgrims deprived of performing Hajj 2025
On Friday, Ministry of Religious Affairs’ Secretary Dr. Attaur Rehman informed the Senate that the issue of sending around 67,000 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia in 2025 is no longer in the government’s hands.
The secretary also briefed the committee on the new policy introduced by Saudi Arabia, which states that no Hajj group organiser with a quota of less than 2,000 will be allowed. The policy also merged 904 Hajj group organisers into 45 large Hajj companies, Dr. Attaur Rehman said.
Earlier in shocking details emerged in the Hajj 2025 scandal in Pakistan, the Hajj Organizers Association of Pakistan (HOAP) revealed that millions of Saudi Riyals in Hajj funds were transferred to the wrong account which jeopardized the pilgrimage of over 67,000 Pakistani pilgrims..
The major financial mismanagement was revealed during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Harmony, chaired by Malik Muhammad Aamir Dogar, in Islamabad.
A HOAP representative claimed that despite not being officially informed of the October 23 deadline for submitting Hajj payments to the Saudi government, private tour operators sent the required funds five days before the deadline.
