Hajj to cost Rs1.175m this year

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has approved the Hajj Policy-2023, estimating Rs1.175 million as a tentative amount of the hajj cost, which is 36.59% higher than its amount in the previous year.

The Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar chaired the meeting of the Cabinet’s ECC.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony submitted a summary on the Hajj Policy-2023.

The ECC after discussion approved Hajj-2023 policy and agreed to provide a foreign exchange cover of $90m.

The policy states that the Hajj quota allocated to Pakistan for the year 2023 is 179,210 which shall be distributed between the Government and Private Hajj Schemes at a ratio of 50:50.

Out of the government and Private Hajj Schemes, a quota of 50% each shall be reserved for sponsorship schemes.

Under sponsorship, applicants shall be required to deposit their hajj dues in foreign exchange remitted from abroad and will not be allowed to deposit the hajj dues from the foreign currency accounts in Pakistan.

According to sources, under the government’s sponsorship, the hajj quota is expected to generate about $194m and the private hajj scheme is expected to generate more than $250m, depending on the cost of various packages and the applications received for them.

In addition, the sponsorship scheme of government hajj quota shall be utilized on a first come first served basis, and the Ministry of Religious Affairs shall decide about the unutilized quota of sponsorship scheme, and its allocation to regular/private scheme or return to KSA.

For the year 2023, tentative Hajj Package for Northern region (Multan, Lahore, Sialkot, Islamabad, Rahim Yar Khan, Faisalabad and Peshawar) is Rs 1.17m and for the South Region (Karachi, Sukkar and Quetta) is Rs 1.16m.

Sources informed Profit that there is no age limit for hajj this year and the intending pilgrims who have performed hajj within the last 5 hajj years (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022) years are ineligible for hajj 2023. However, intending pilgrims of the sponsorship scheme are exempted from this bar.

The ECC also deferred a summary submitted by the Ministry of Industries and Production on Solar Panel & Allied Equipment Manufacturing Policy-2023 with direction to review and revise the proposed policy considering inputs from all stakeholders.

The ECC also approved a Technical Supplementary Grant of RS. 12 billion in favor of the Planning Commission for Conduct of 7th Population & Housing Census and Rs. 3,244m in favor of Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety for National Poverty Graduation Programme (NPGP).  

The ECC also deferred a summary presented by the Ministry of National Food Security & Research on Urea Fertilizer requirement for year 2023 with direction to incorporate the recommendations of the Committee framed by the ECC on gas distribution plan headed by Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.