Following the expiration of the previous deadline on Tuesday (today), the government announced on Tuesday that the deadline for submitting applications for Haj 2024 has been extended by another 10 days, till December 22. This comes in response to thousands of Pakistanis who wish to attend Haj 2024.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, the government has also removed the five-year ban on the Haj-e-Badal – the Haj performed by someone on behalf of someone else – that had been in place since 2012.
Further, as part of its efforts to attract valuable foreign exchange in the wake of the depletion of forex reserves, the government has announced that those paying their dues in dollars from overseas will be declared as “winners” without the need to go through the ballot process.
In addition, the ministry also stated that applications for sponsorship of the Haj in the sponsorship scheme are being accepted on a “first come, first served” basis.
A pilgrim who has performed Haj in the last five years is also eligible to apply for Haj 2024 as they have performed Haj in the last five years.
After the Pakistani government decided to slash Haj expenses by Rs100,000, the next year’s pilgrimage is expected to cost around Rs1,075,000 to the 89,605 Pakistanis who are expected to participate in this year’s pilgrimage under the government scheme.
The pilgrims can choose from a variety of packages, which last between 38 and 42 days, or between 20 and 25 days, respectively, depending on their needs.
The sacred journey will, however, be able to be undertaken by women for the first time in history without the traditional requirement that they travel with a male companion.
It is also expected that the government will provide free-of-charge mobile SIM cards as well as roaming internet packages to Pakistani pilgrims.
There is no doubt that Pakistan has secured 179,000 Haj seats, with half of them reserved for private Haj operators.
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