ISLAMABAD – Thousands of Pakistanis hoping to fulfill their lifelong dream of performing Hajj might miss this year’s annual pilgrimage, it has emerged.
The Pakistani government sends around 180,000 pilgrims in total to Saudi Arabia and for this year, around 80,000 pilgrims had to be dispatched to the holy kingdom through private tour operators; however, reports have emerged that a major blunder might lead to thousands of Pakistanis missing Hajj this year.
The details of the shocking administrative failure imply that the private tour operators failed to register over 70,000 pilgrims with the Saudi authorities.
An agreement is signed between the Pakistani government, Saudi authorities and the private tour operators for administration of Hajj operation and media reports convey that private tour operators have violated this agreement which has resulted in failure to register thousands of pilgrims. The non-adherence to the Saudi Hajj policy is the core reason which could lead to thousands of Pakistanis missing Hajj.
Regarding the numbers, the Pakistani government was allotted 179,210 seats for the Pakistani pilgrims for the upcoming Hajj; however, there has been a major failure when it comes to the seats allocated to the private tour operators.
As far as the governance action is concerned, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a high-level three member committee to look into the matter. Meanwhile, efforts have been initiated by the authorities to rectify the mistake and allow private tour operators to dispatch the Pakistani pilgrims.
The three member committee comprises Cabinet Secretary, Kamran Ali Afzal, Chairman of Federal Board of Revenue, Rashid Langrial and Chief Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Abrar Ahmad Mirza. It is to be highlighted that official details regarding the administrative lapse and the proceedings of the inquiry committee are still awaited.
Meanwhile, Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has announced to start its pre-Hajj 2025 operations which would run from April 29, 2025 to June 1, 2025.
During the period, the national carrier would transport over 56,000 Pakistani pilgrims to Saudi Arabia through 280 special flights.
