Hajj applicants accuse govt officials of violating merit criteria

RIYADH: Applicants for the Hajj have leveled allegations against the government officials concerning the selection of employees for Khuddam Al-Hajjaj (Muavineen-e-Hajjaj) 2026.

From the complaints lodged on the Prime Minister’s Portal, the merit list was uploaded without carrying out mandatory physical tests. According to the complaints, shortly after the result was uploaded on the portal in the late evening of December 20, selection notices for some candidates and cancellation of physical tests for selected candidates were sent out.

Applications for places in Khuddam Al-Hajjaj for government employees are invited until November 30. But after the results were announced, candidates whose rights had allegedly been violated are now approaching the Federal Ombudsman for the examination of their matter for recruitment purely on merit.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs’ spokesperson explained that this selection procedure occurs in accordance with a formula that “distributes 70 percent of the posts to candidates previously selected, and 30 percent to the fresh candidates.”

The official further stated that “provincial quotas have been kept as per population and applications have been received from Govt. servants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and ex-FATA provinces.”