PESHAWAR: The draw for the additional quota of Hajj for Pakistani pilgrims will be balanced on Monday, June 3, 2019 at 10:00am.
Previously, the additional quota was scheduled to be announced on May 20, but it was postponed and now a new date has been announced for the draw. According to sources in the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Inter-faith harmony, the applicants who could not make it to the list in the first draw, will be included in the second draw.
Under the revised quota for Pakistani pilgrims by the Saudi government, additional 16,000 Pakistanis will go to Saudi Arabia this year to perform Hajj under the government and private schemes. In the new additional quota, 9,474 people will perform Hajj under the government scheme and 6,316 will perform the religious obligation through private scheme.
The sources said those applicants who have withdrawn the deposited money from banks will also be included in the draw and they will be given few days’ time to again submit the money in the banks. The sources said no new applicants will be included in the fresh draw.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs had announced on April 29 that those who remained unsuccessful in the first Hajj draw will get another chance as the quota of Pakistani pilgrims has been increased by 16,000 by the Saudi government.
During the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan had raised the issue of increase in quota for Pakistan Hajj pilgrims. The Saudi government granted the approval to Pakistan’s request and now the quota of Pakistani pilgrims has been increased to 200,000. Earlier, the quota of Pakistani pilgrims was 184,210.
Saudi Arabia has also included Pakistan in its “Road to Makkah” project under which Pakistani pilgrims will undergo immigration clearance at Pakistani airports before leaving for Hajj.
Under the Hajj Policy-2019, there will be no free Hajj for anyone. The details of the Hajj Policy-2019 have been issued on the website of the Ministry of Religious affairs in Urdu and English with 27 important features for the connivance of the readers.
