Islamabad:
The federal government is completing a new Hajj policy that will request an expanded quota of 255,000 pilgrims for Pakistan next year, from this year’s 189,000.
The policy, which is being prepared in consultation with stakeholders and will soon be placed before the cabinet, also aims to explore the resumption of Hajj travel by sea and expand Saudi Arabia’s “Road to Makkah” immigration facility to multiple Pakistani airports.
The development was shared during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee for Religious Affairs Monday.
The panel met under the presidency of Malik Amir Dogar in the House of Parliament, where Federal Minister of Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf gave a comprehensive briefing on this year’s Hajj events.
He said this year’s pilgrimage was “one of the most successful in recent memory” and added that the Saudi government and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had congratulated the Pakistani authorities with the well -executed operations.
“For the first time, Pakistan received an ‘Excellence Award’ from the Saudi government for his excellent Hajj leadership,” he told the committee. He added that Pakistani Pilgrims were provided with air -conditioned facilities in key -ranking places including arafat.
Yousaf said a new Hajj policy is formulated under the instructions of the Prime Minister and in line with Saudi guidelines and would soon be presented to the federal cabinet. Members of the committee were invited to share proposals for the new policy.
He added that the Saudi authorities had already issued their updated Hajj policy on the 12th dhul hijjah.
With regard to registration to Hajj 2025, the Minister revealed that over 455,000 people had already signed up. “Pakistan’s previous quota was 189,000 pilgrims. Next year we hope to receive an extended quota of 255,000, which we have submitted a request to the Saudi authorities,” he added.
The committee also discussed reducing the Hajj costs by offering installment-based payment options, resuming travel on oatmeal and limiting the use of luxury stays.
Without Mahram
During the session, the committee also discussed the Saudi government’s recent policy that allowed women to perform Hajj and Umrah without a Mahram (male guardian).
While the minister confirmed that no Pakistani pilgrims were awarded to an Indian company – to clarify that a company named “Asia Bhart” was wrong for an Indian entity because of his name – a member raised religious concerns.
The committee subsequently decided to seek the opinion of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on the permission of women traveling without Mahram for pilgrimage during Islamic teaching.
