Govt receives 72000 applications under regular Hajj scheme: As of Sunday, when the application deadline for the normal Hajj plan expires, the government of Pakistan has received 72869 applications via authorized banks. The government will conduct a balloting process to choose the successful pilgrims for this year’s Hajj, which is slated to take place in June. The quota for Hajj pilgrims under the usual plan is 44190.
A New Wall of gold and Copper Around the Roza e Rasool ﷺ
Mufti Abdul Shakoor, the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony; Tariq Mehmood Pasha, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Revenue; the Secretary of Religious Affairs, the Special Secretary of Finance, and senior officers from the Finance and Religious Affairs Ministries all attended the meeting, which was presided over by Federal Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Saturday.
The attendees reviewed the Hajj-2023 progress and discussed how to make it easier for the pilgrims planning to perform the ritual this year. The participants heard a briefing from the religious affairs secretary on the steps to speed up the procedure.
Details regarding the required foreign currency for this year’s Hajj were also supplied by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Intercultural Harmony.
Govt receives 72000 applications under regular Hajj scheme
The finance minister requested during the meeting that accurate and reconciled data regarding the total number of applications received under the Regular Scheme be obtained from the banks by Tuesday, April 4, 2023.
It was agreed that the government would review and determine the precise number of planned candidates for the Regular Hajj Program after receiving complete information.
According to Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the Hujjaj will be made as easy as possible by the Pakistani government because performing the Hajj is a vital religious requirement.
Before this, the Pakistani government declared that the Regular Hajj Scheme application deadline would remain open until April 2. Application submission deadlines for the “sponsorship scheme” have been extended until April 9.
Pakistan has a quota of 179,210 pilgrims for the Hajj in 2023. For the first time since Covid, the Saudi Arabian government has increased the number of pilgrims.
It is important to note that a 50% quota has been set aside for the Sponsorship Scheme, a unique service provided to Hajj pilgrims looking to get foreign currency from overseas through the designated dollar account of the Religious Affairs Ministry.
It is important to note that once the pandemic travel restrictions were relaxed, Saudi Arabia now accepts pilgrims in significant numbers, roughly 2.3. One million individuals participated in the 2022 Hajj season. However, only those between 18 and 65 who had completed their immunizations against the virus and had no chronic illnesses were permitted to travel to the kingdom.