Religious Ministry releases details of Hajj expenses

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Maulana Abdul Shakoor has asserted that this year the Hajj will cost Rs860,000 for Pakistanis, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

According to details, the Religious Ministry has released the details of Hajj expenses this year, stating that the Hajj will cost Rs860,000 for Pakistanis, while the cost for southern part of the country will be Rs850,000.

Giving details about the expenditure on Hajj, Maulana Abdul Shakoor said that the accommodation in Mecca will cost Rs 112,000, while in Madinah it will cost Rs38,000. Under the Haj Policy, Rs45,000 (with Qurbani), has been fixed for individuals.

The Minister further said that Rs 84,000 would be spent on transport while the food will cost Rs56,000. According to the minister, Hajj expenses in Saudi Arabia would be Rs300,000 while visa fee would be Rs 16,000.

It is pertinent to mention here that the national flag carrier — Pakistan International Airline (PIA) — will begin this year’s Hajj flight operations from June 6.

According to PIA spokesperson, the first Hajj flight will depart for Madina from Islamabad on June 6. PIA said the Hajj flights to Saudi Arabia would fly to Jeddah and Madinah.

“The national flag carrier will operate overall 400 pre and post-Hajj flights from May 31 to August 13,” Pakistan’s national flag carrier said in a statement.

Hajj operation will be carried out from 8 cities of Pakistan including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Multan, Peshawar and Quetta, the statement read.