Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have recently inked several agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) aimed at enhancing facilities for Pakistani pilgrims during the upcoming Hajj.
The agreements were signed by the Director General of Hajj at the Ministry of Religious Affairs on behalf of the Pakistani government.
During the announcement, Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Aneeq Ahmed expressed that Pakistani pilgrims would be provided with improved accommodations at Mina and Arafat during this year’s Hajj.
He also lauded the Ministry of Religious Affairs for their dedicated and consistent efforts to enhance facilities for pilgrims compared to the previous year.
In a related development, it has been revealed that Pakistan has opted to surrender its quota for the Hajj 2024 sponsorship scheme to Saudi Arabia this year due to a shortage of applications.
The government had set aside 25,000 seats for the ‘Sponsorship Scheme Hajj,’ introduced this year to enable overseas Pakistanis to apply for Hajj or sponsor someone in Pakistan for the pilgrimage by making payments in US dollars.
In exchange, applicants would be exempt from participating in the balloting process.
