ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia would increase Pakistan’s quota of pilgrims for next year’s Hajj pilgrimage to almost 180,000 as the kingdom seeks to revive the old Hajj quota of countries around the world to pre-pandemic levels, a senior official of Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry confirmed.
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the Hajj was restricted to just 1,000 local residents. Last year, the kingdom limited the pilgrimage to 60,000 domestic participants, compared with the pre-coronavirus pandemic figure of 2.5 million.
For this year’s Hajj, Saudi Arabia allowed 1 million people from both within and outside the kingdom to perform the pilgrimage. These included 83,132 Pakistani pilgrims.
“Pakistan received a “verbal intimation” last week from a Saudi delegation, in a virtual meeting, that Pakistan’s quota for Hajj pilgrims would be increased,” Secretary Ministry of Religious Affairs, Aftab Akbar Durrani, was quoted by Arab News on Thursday.
The Saudi delegation was led by Dr. Abdulfattah bin Sulaiman Mashat, Saudi deputy minister for Hajj and Umrah.
“They [Saudi officials] have informed us that they are reviving the old Hajj quota for the whole world including Pakistan,” Durrani said.
After the revival of the pre-coronavirus Hajj quota, over 179,210 Pakistanis would be able to perform the pilgrimage next year, he said. However, Durrani added, that Pakistan is yet to receive written confirmation from the Saudi authorities.
“The written agreement will be signed in this regard with the Saudi government during a Hajj conference which is taking place next month on January 9 in Jeddah,” Durrani said.
Durrani added that either Pakistan’s religious affairs minister or he would represent Pakistan at the conference where all Hajj-related details would be finalized with the kingdom’s officials.
“We are also trying to reduce Hajj expenses for pilgrims which will also be finalized during the visit,” the official added.
