The government of Pakistan will start receiving applications for its Hajj scheme from Monday, February 25 till March 6, in 14 approved banks across the country.
According to the policy released by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, computerised balloting will be held for nearly, 184,210 Pakistanis to perform Hajj this year.
The Hajj policy 2019 by the government entailed that Pakistan’s Hajj quota had increased to 179,210 + 5,000. The policy would be implemented through the government and private Hajj Group Organizers (HGOs) with the ratio of 60:40 while an additional quota of 5,000 would be allotted to newly-enrolled, non-quota-holding companies. There shall be no free Hajj this year. The approved Hajj applicants from the districts of Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan, and Rahim Yar Khan in the Northern region would pay Rs 436,975, while those from the districts of Karachi, Quetta, and Sukkur in the Southern region would pay Rs 426,975. Qurbani would also be available at an added charge of Rs19,451.
Infants born after September 15, 2017, would pay Rs 12,910 and Rs 11,910 for North and South, respectively, under Government Hajj Scheme. An International Machine Readable Pakistani Passport (IMRPP) with validity till February 2, 2020, and a valid CNIC would be required for the submission of the Hajj application. These applications can be submitted to 14 designated banks, including Habib Bank Limited, United Bank Limited, National Bank of Pakistan, MCB Bank Limited, Allied Bank Limited, Bank of Punjab, Meezan Bank, Bank Al-Falah, Bank Al-Habib, Zarai Taraqiati Bank, Faysal Bank, Habibmetro Bank Limited, Askari Bank, and Dubai Islamic Bank, from February 25 to March 6, while the balloting will be held on March 8, 2019.
The dues for Hajj applications will be deposited in the Shariah-compliant accounts in these banks while the government will select applications through computerised balloting.
A total of 10,000 seats would be allocated to citizens above the age of 80 years. Female senior pilgrims can be accompanied by female helpers along with their joint mehram while male senior pilgrims can be accompanied by one helper. A total of 10,000 seats would be reserved for persons previously unsuccessful in all of the ballots held in the last three years, (2016, 2017, and 2018). 1.5 per cent of the seats would be reserved for hardship cases while another 500 seats will be reserved for labour or low-paid employees of companies registered with the Employees Old-age Benefits Institution (EOBI) and the Workers Welfare Fund (WWF). These applicants would be sponsored by their respective organizations under their Corporate Social Responsibility programmes. Only applicants, including those intending to perform Hajj-e-Badal/Nafal Hajj, who have not performed Hajj under the Government Hajj Scheme for the last five years would be entertained.
This restriction would not apply to the mehram of a female or those who wish to avail the private Hajj scheme.
Female pilgrims of any age (under 45 in the case of Fiqah Jafria female pilgrims) are expected to be accompanied by a mehram in the light of the Saudi requirements.
The Hujjaj Mohafiz Scheme, which is based on the concept of “Takaful”, would e implemented again in Hajj Policy 2019.
Each Hajj organiser is required to submit a performance guarantee of packages, package x quota, five per cent for old organisers and 10 per cent for new organisers respectively) in the form of bank or cash guarantee, which would be released on satisfactory performance.
The government would ensure the effective supervision of the Hajj operations of both government and private Schemes. To facilitate Hujjaj, the Hajj Medical Mission, Moavineen-i-Hujjaj, the seasonal staff of MORA and IH, and Saudi-based Moavineen-i-Hujjaj would be deputed according to the requirements for Hajj 2019.
The document also noted the following services that will be provided to the Hujjaj this year:
* a comprehensive awareness and training campaign
* five litres of Zamzam water
* new initiatives that include Road to Makkah project at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi
* E-visa facility, for which negotiations are underway with Saudi authorities
* a temporary haji camp in Gilgit to transport Hujjaj from Gilgit to Islamabad AIrport on buses provided by the government
* a direct flight to Saudi Arabia for Hujjaj from the Quetta POD
* biometric verification in the distant districts of Skardu, Turbot, Khuzdar, Chitral, and Muzaffarabad.
Published in Daily Times, February 25th 2019.
