ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Yousaf said that children under the age of 12 will not be allowed to go on Hajj.
Along with Secretary for Religious Affairs Atta-ur-Rehman, in a press conference regarding the Hajj policy, he added that today the federal cabinet has approved the Hajj policy.
He says that official Hajj applications will be received from August 4. Pakistan’s Hajj quota for 2026 is 179,210.
Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Yousaf said that 119,000 have been set for the official Hajj scheme, while a quota of 60,000 has been set for private Hajj. The long and short Hajj packages will be the same as before.
He has complained that the sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee has prepared its report, on which we were not taken into confidence.
Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Yousaf says that the Ministry of Religious Affairs will respond to the sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee. It is known to everyone that private tour operators have not been able to collect the pilgrims’ money on time.
He has also said that private tour operators will conduct the remaining pilgrims for Hajj at the same cost as last year.
The federal cabinet has approved the Hajj Policy 2026 in its meeting on Wednesday, under which the government quota has been increased.
According to sources, the cabinet has increased the government quota by 10 percent since last year.
70 percent of the quota will be given to the government while the remaining 30 percent will be given to private tour operators.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs had initially proposed a quota of 40% for government-sponsored Hajj pilgrims and 60% for private operators. However, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, taking a personal interest in the matter, directed a review, which resulted in a 70:30 split in favor of the government scheme.
Sources further revealed that the cost of performing Hajj under the government scheme in 2026 is expected to be between Rs1.15 million and Rs1.25 million.
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