Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri Friday said that only those people who have resources should perform hajj.
Talking to media here, the minister said as many as 184,000 Pakistanis will go for hajj this year. He said that hajj expenditures increase every year due to hike in prices.
He rejected media reports of him walking out of the federal cabinet meeting due to the government’s decision of withdrawing subsidies on hajj. “I am part of the federal cabinet … how can I get annoyed because cabinet’s decisions are always joint decisions,” he said. “There is no substance in the news stories about me walking out of the cabinet meeting. I did not leave the meeting but I stood up to hear a telephone call,” he said, adding that his ministry had proposed subsidy on hajj but the prime minister and other members of the cabinet did not agree to it.
Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry also said that only those who have resources should perform hajj.
The comments came following criticism the government received for the hike in hajj expenses and the withdrawal of subsidy. Taking to Twitter, Fawad said that hajj and zakat are ‘worships related to wealthier people only’. “Provision of subsidy was tantamount to receiving money for poor people to perform hajj which goes against the basic philosophy of the worship,” he said.
Responding to a question by a Twitter user, Fawad said that the government was not earning a single rupee as profit through the hajj process.
Published in Daily Times, February 2nd 2019.
