ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has allotted a quota of 81,132 pilgrims to Pakistan to perform Hajj this year.
Official sources said that in the coming days, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony will begin accepting Hajj applications through designated branches of scheduled banks.
Hajj Policy 2022 will shortly reveal Hajj expenses, age limits, vaccines, and other terms and conditions.
According to the sources, balloting would be used to decide on proposals filed in the form of individuals or groups.
The distribution of Hajj quotas between public and private Hajj programmes will be divided 60:40, according to the statement.
Read more: Ministry plans to increase Hajj capacity to 1 million pilgrims
Note that, more than one million Muslims from both within and outside Saudi Arabia will be allowed to attend this year’s Hajj, a significant increase after two years of pandemic restrictions led to significantly reduced pilgrimages.
Many Muslims outside Saudi Arabia, who have been prevented from performing the Hajj since 2019, were encouraged by the decision, which fell short of restoring regular circumstances.
The Hajj, one of Islam’s five pillars, must be performed at least once in the lifetime of any Muslim who has the financial wherewithal to do so. Around 2.5 million people attended this year’s event, making it one of the biggest religious gatherings in the world.
Read more: Umrah pilgrims must have negative PCR test, says Saudi Hajj Ministry
It was only in 2020 that Saudi officials decided to limit participation to 1,000 pilgrims.
There were 60,000 complete vaccinations for Saudi nationals and residents selected through a lottery the next year.
The Saudi Hajj ministry said early Saturday that it “had authorised one million pilgrims, both international and local, to do the Hajj.”
