PM Shehbaz orders investigation into unused private Hajj quota

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif has launched a formal inquiry into why Pakistan failed to utilize the private Hajj quota allocated for 2025, citing non-compliance with Saudi Arabia’s regulations.

The decision was made through a notification issued by the Cabinet Division on Thursday. A total of 179,210 pilgrims from Pakistan were scheduled to perform Hajj this year under the Hajj Agreement 2025 signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in January, with the quota being divided equally between government and private schemes.

However, Pakistan failed to utilize its entire share under the private Hajj scheme, prompting the prime minister to form a three-member inquiry committee to look into the lapse. The panel will be headed by the Secretary Cabinet Division and includes the Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Chief Secretary of Gilgit-Baltistan.

According to a Cabinet Division notification, the committee has been tasked with determining why the revised policy of 2025 issued by Saudi Arabia was not properly implemented by Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony in collaboration with private Hajj operators.

It will also examine whether adequate steps were taken by the ministry to ensure that all necessary formalities were completed by the deadline set by Saudi Arabia. The committee will identify who was responsible for the oversight, which, as the notification states, “deprived thousands of Pakistani pilgrims of the opportunity to perform Hajj in 2025.”