ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia on Thursday expressed willingness to increase Hajj quota for Pakistan.
This was disclosed at a meeting between Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Harmony Sardar Muhammad Yousaf and his Saudi counterpart Al-Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdul Aziz in Peshawar.
Sardar Yousaf said that keeping in view the increasing population of the country, increase in the Hajj quota is need of the hour.
Saleh Bin Abdul Aziz lauded Pakistan’s sacrifices in the war against terrorism.
Read More: Saudi Arabia increases India’s annual Hajj quota
During the meeting, they also discussed matters of bilateral interests and mutual cooperation.
This should be noted that the Hajj quota for Pakistan was increased in this January to 179,210 applications for 2017. The quota had been reduced in 2013 due to expansion work in the Grand Mosque.
“An agreement for the year 2017 has been signed with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Hajj quota has been enhanced from 143,368 to 179,210,” a Ministry for Religious Affairs statement had said.
