Hajj operations: Ministry suffers Rs 180 million loss due to Shaheen Airline, Senate body told

The Ministry of Religious Affairs had to bear additional Rs 180 million expenditure due to negligence of Shaheen Airline in the Hajj operations. Secretary of the ministry, Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmed revealed this on Tuesday while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Harmony here at the Parliament House.
The meeting chaired by Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri discussed issues pertaining to distribution of Zakat fund and Hajj.
The secretary informed the committee members that his ministry signed contracts with four airlines - PIA, Air Blue, Saudi Airline and Shaheen Airline - for return of the pilgrims from Saudi Arabia.
He said the Shaheen Airline was supposed to get its flight schedule approved from Saudi Aviation Authority but it failed to do so, and the airline could not mend its ways.
The secretary said that flight schedule and Hajj quota of other airlines also got disturbed due to negligence of the Shaheen Airline, adding that the ministry had to bear additional Rs 180 million expenditure to bring back the pilgrims from Saudi Arabia. The secretary also informed the committee members that services of 650 doctors and paramedical staff were hired during the Hajj to facilitate the pilgrims as 10 dispensaries and one hospital each were set up separately in Makkah and Madina.
The committee has sought details of the Hajj assistants, Khuddam and others appointed during that time by the ministry in its next meeting for review.
About utilisation of Zakat funds, the committee was informed that under the 18th constitutional amendment, the Zakat fund is distributed among all the provinces and Centre under a prescribed formula.
The Centre gets 7 percent share out of the total Zakat fund, Punjab gets 57 percent, Sindh gets 23.71 and Balochistan gets 5.11, the committee was informed, adding that the Centre's share also includes Gilgit-Baltistan and erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The committee was informed that all provinces have a laid down procedure for distribution of Zakat fund among the deserving and the needy.