ISLAMABAD: Special Representative of Prime Minister for Religious Affairs and Pakistani Diaspora in Middle East and Islamic Countries, Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi on Thursday announced that private Hajj organizers will start booking for Hajj 2024 from Friday, February 16. national.
Addressing a press conference along with Hajj Organizers Association of Pakistan (HOAP) Chairman Jamal Khan Tarakai, Vice Chairman Haji Sanaullah and another representative, they said that intending pilgrims in the country and abroad could take advantage of this sacred occasion till February 25.
Ashrafí, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council, expressed optimism about the possibility of extending the application deadline by a month through the Hajj organizers’ private platform. He revealed that the Hajj quota allocated to private Hajj organizers was 89,604 pilgrims, with a fifty percent quota of 44,802 pilgrims reserved for the Hajj sponsorship program.
Ashrafí urged the government to provide all possible assistance to intending Pakistani overseas pilgrims for smooth transfer of their funds in local financial institutions. He suggested that it would be much better if they were allowed to send their money to the accounts of private Hajj organizers in Saudi Arabia through International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs).
Ashrafí informed that the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has established a specialized helpline in collaboration with HOAP for the further convenience of pilgrims.
He expressed gratitude to the Government of Pakistan as well as Saudi Arabia for making state-of-the-art arrangements in advance for the intended pilgrims.
Ashrafí said this year that due to the special efforts of Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir and Interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, the cost of Hajj was reduced due to controlling the value of the dollar in the financial market.
He said that HOAP has ensured to provide maximum convenience and comfort to the pilgrims and has also devised a self-responsibility mechanism within the private Hajj organizers to immediately address the complaints of the pilgrims and punish specific Hajj organizers for misbehaving towards the affected pilgrims.
Concluding his remarks, Ashrafí said: “Hajj is a religious duty that every able-bodied person must perform once in his lifetime.
Meanwhile, HOAP Chairman Jamal Khan Tarakai announced that a consolidated training program for pilgrims across the country has been launched under the leadership of Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi. He said this comprehensive program will help intending pilgrims to perform their religious rites in a more comfortable environment in the Kingdom.
To guard against any scam, he asked the intending pilgrims to book their spiritual journey through registered Hajj organizers, noting that their complete list is available on the official website of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony.
HOAP Vice-Chairman Haji Sanaullah said that private Hajj organizers are providing great facilities to Pakistani overseas pilgrims to travel directly to Saudi Arabia from their resident countries to perform this sacred duty.
The two leaders urged the government to provide overseas pilgrims with transactional convenience to send their remittances directly to private Hajj IBAN organizers in Saudi Arabia.
