ISLAMABAD: The government is considering privatising entire Hajj operations in 2026, Secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs Dr Zulfiqar Haider said.
Dr Haider made these comments during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs, which was held here on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Senator Maulana Attaur Rehman.
He indicated that, starting from 2026, the entire Hajj programme may be allocated to private operators. He revealed that, on the directives of Saudi Arabia, the number of companies operating for Hajj had been reduced from 500 to 162 last year and added that the ministry intended to step away from managing Hajj arrangements in the future.
The committee was apprised by the officials that a Hajj quota of 179,000 has been allocated for the year 2025, which has been divided equally between the government and the private sector, including 50,000 sponsorship seats for the government and 30,000 for the private sector. As of now, the government has received 81,075 applications. The government has also introduced a short Hajj spanning 20 to 25 days. However, private organisations are allowed to take no fewer than 2,000 Hujjaj. Additionally, the ministry has introduced a test for “Muwayeen” to examine their ability, with a condition of one Muwaen for every 100 Hujjaj. Moreover, the Saudi Government has directed that a boy aged below 12 years is not allowed to perform Hajj.
While discussing the concerns of the Hajj Organizers Association of Pakistan (HOAP), officials informed that the government has introduced a cluster system comprising 40 to 45 private organisations to fulfill the Saudi government’s requirement of 2,000 Hujjaj for private organisations. The government has also introduced a Service Provider Agreement, but the HOAP has acquired a stay order from the Sindh High Court (SHC) against it. The committee directed the HOAP to vacate the stay order and comply with the Service Provider Agreement within the next 48 hours.
Furthermore, the committee took up the matter of the mosque constructed by the CDA and located in Park Enclave. Additional Deputy Commissioner Maheen Baloch stated that the mosque should be handed over to Auqaf Management so that a Waqf manager could be appointed as per the law. The residents, who have been managing the mosque for the last 10 months as per the CDA’s directions, pleaded that the Waqf manager should be appointed from among the society’s residents. The committee recommended that the Waqf manager should be appointed from among the residents.
The secretary mentioned that next year, all Hajj operations might be carried out by private operators. However, he warned that private Hajj operators must withdraw their cases from court, or their quotas would be revoked. Initially, 904 private companies were registered for Hajj operations.
He also discussed that Saudi Arabia had expressed concern over the large number of companies involved. As a result, the number of companies was reduced to 46, with each company receiving a quota of 2,000 pilgrims. The private Hajj operators expressed that they had received 80 complaints regarding private Hajj services, while 18,000 complaints were reported about the government-run Hajj scheme.
In response, the additional secretary explained that Saudi authorities were unwilling to deal with such a large number of companies and had ordered the reduction. Private Hajj operators have also approached the SHC, and the court has asked for the meeting minutes, which may impact the private operators’ quotas. If the issue is delayed, Saudi Arabia may cancel the private quota altogether.
The committee discussed resolving the issue of private Hajj operators’ complaints. Minority member Dr Dinesh Kumar suggested potential solutions to address the differences between Hajj operators and the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The Chairman of the committee, Maulana Ataur Rahman, remarked that Dr Dinesh Kumar seemed to have conducted four Hajj pilgrimages based on his arguments, which lightened the mood in the committee. Dr Kumar responded that he had detailed knowledge of Hajj and had previously quoted Quranic verses in the Senate against interest-based transactions.
The secretary also highlighted that if the private Hajj operators did not withdraw their cases, their quotas could be cancelled, and the quota could potentially be handed over to India or Afghanistan. If Saudi Arabia revoked the quota, Pakistan would not object.
The Senate committee urged the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the private Hajj operators to work together to resolve the issue of the number of companies. The secretary clarified that the ministry could not go against Saudi Arabia’s policy, as a formal agreement had been made.
The secretary emphasised that the reduction in the number of private companies was a result of the agreement with Saudi Arabia, and the Federal Cabinet had approved this decision. Due to this agreement, the federal government cannot review the Hajj policy.
Private Hajj operators mentioned that they had already sent advance payments to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj arrangements. The committee clarified that without a formal agreement with the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the private operators would not receive the Hajj quota, and any advance payments sent to Saudi Arabia could be wasted.
The committee instructed the private Hajj operators to finalise their agreement with the Ministry of Religious Affairs as soon as possible. The secretary stated that sending money to Saudi Arabia without an agreement with the ministry was an illegal action. Maulana Ataur Rahman expressing serious concern said that if the court’s stay order was not lifted, the Hajj quota would be lost, which would significantly harm the country’s reputation.
Additionally, the committee was briefed on the death of a 14-year-old Hindu boy during the 555th Birth rituals of Baba Guru Nanak. Officials stated that the incident occurred due to poor management; however, the ministry is investigating the matter, and the alleged individuals will be penalised as per the law. The committee recommended that compensation of Rs 2.5 million each be given to the aggrieved family by the Evacuee Trust Board and Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) and the report of the findings should be submitted within three weeks.
In attendance were Senators, Husna Bano, Afnanullah Khan, Bushra Anjum Butt, Gurdeep Singh, Danesh Kumar, Secretary for Religious Affairs Zulfiqar Haider and other senior officials from relevant departments.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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