Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said Saudi authorities would be contacted to facilitate about 67,000 Pakistani pilgrims whose participation in Hajj 2025 is at risk due to delays in the completion of agreements and payments.
Chairman of a high -level meeting on the issue on Friday, the Prime Minister expressed deep concern about the crisis and instructed authorities to make any possible efforts to secure Pilgrims’ journey to the holy places.
He assured the delegation gift that he would personally raise the case with Saudi officials to ensure approval of the pilgrims concerned during the private quota.
“This is a matter of shame for us,” he said, calling for quick and decisive action. “We have to do everything we can to solve this question and avoid refusing thousands of people, the chance to fulfill a sacred commitment,” he added.
The meeting attended the Federal Minister of Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, members of the Senate’s Standing Committee for Religious Affairs and Representatives from Hajj Organizer Association of Pakistan (HOAP).
The delegation briefed the prime minister about the crisis and appealed to his intervention to secure the necessary approvals for pilgrims.
Formerly the Secretary of Religious Affairs, Dr. Attaur Rehman, the Senate, that the fate of the 67,000 pilgrims was no longer in the hands of the government, quoting new political changes introduced by Saudi Arabia.
According to the secretary, Riyadh has now mandated that only Hajj Group organizers with quotas of 2,000 or more are allowed to operate. As a result, 904 existing organizers have been merged into 45 major Hajj companies.
The change of policy has complicated preparations and has caused delays in payments and administrative coordination, leaving thousands of pilgrims in danger of being unable to perform Hajj in 2025.
