Pakistan to send 170,000 pilgrims for Haj
Source: Arab News
Riyadh : Saudi Arabia | 05 Jun 2010
Pakistan will send 170,000 Haj pilgrims this year, the country's consulate in Jeddah announced on Friday.
“The new Haj policy for 2010 was announced in Islamabad by Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi on Thursday,” Muhammed Tariq, press counselor at the Paksitan Consulate in Jeddah told Arab News on Friday.
According to the new policy, 80,000 pilgrims will perform the religious duty under the government scheme and the others will come under the private Haj Organizers (HJO) scheme, he said.
The ministry would start receiving applications under the scheme from June 10, while the last date for the submission of applications would be June 25, he said.
Successful candidates will have to submit their original International Machine Readable Passports with their respective bank branches within four days of the balloting.
Computerized national identity cards for overseas Pakistanis would be mandatory for performing Haj this year, he added.
He emphasized that the Saudi government would only stamp passports having a validity of at least one year at the time of the filing of applications.
He also said there will be no quota for parliamentarians nor would there be any special VIP flights.
Haj expenses under the government scheme have been increased by 19 percent from last year’s level because of inflation. Pilgrims departing from Karachi and Quetta would pay PKR226,000, while those flying from other airports will pay PKR238,000.
Following the deduction of Haj dues, accommodation charges and special services payable to Saudi agencies, he said, the balance sum in foreign exchange would be provided in cash to the pilgrims before their departure from Pakistan.
A proposal to increase the PIA Haj fare by PKR13,000 was reduced to PKR6,000 due to personal intervention by President Asif Ali Zardari, the press consul said. The airfare charges by PIA from Karachi and Quetta will be PKR67,000 and from other destinations, PKR79,000.
The official indicated that the government is trying its best to hire accommodation in Makkah and Madinah in proximity to the Grand Mosque in Makkah and Prophet's Mosque in Madinah.
The maximum rent in Makkah shall be SR3,600 per pilgrim up to 2,000 meters from the Kaaba. In Madinah the accommodation will be rented at SR500 per pilgrim per cycle to be paid on actual occupancy basis.
The ministry has also arranged to lodge 100 percent of pilgrims under the government scheme in Old Mina which entails a higher price as it is close to the Jamrat Bridge. This will save the pilgrims from walking long distance to perform the rituals.
He announced that the Haj flights operation will commence on Oct. 10. Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Sialkot and Multan will be used as international gateways for Haj flights to Jeddah and Madinah and back. Faisalabad, Rahim Yar Khan and Sukkur will be used as feeder airports unless the airlines operate small aircraft from these stations.
He thanked the Pakistani expatriate community in the western region for their help in the past, and added this year 600 volunteers proficient in Arabic will help and guide the Pakistani pilgrims.
