ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has made a final request to the Saudi Arabia Hajj authorities to reinstate the private hajj quota, according to media reports.
The Private quota was left due to technical reasons, which led to over 67000 Pakistanis left from performing the Hajj this year.
The ministry, in a letter to Saudi authorities, highlighted that the left-out pilgrims contain a large number of elderly Pakistani pilgrims and urged them to allocate the quota again to them.
The Pakistani Officials made sure that all the rules and regulations would be duly followed from next year, requesting facilitation for this year’s pilgrims.
The letter further stated that the failure to pay service provider fees on time resulted in 67,000 pilgrims missing out, despite the required funds already being deposited with Saudi authorities.
The Ministry said allowing them will be a move of gesture of Islamic solidarity and brotherhood.
Earlier, Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Muhammad Yousaf received 305 pilgrims under the government-sponsored scheme started on Thursday.
Director General Hajj Abdul Wahab Soomro, Chief Coordinator Hajj Operations Dr. Mirza Ali Mehsud, Director Makkah Azizullah Khan, Consul General Khalid Majeed, and Saudi officials were also present on the occasion.
