An official of Makkah Route handovers the passport of a pilgrim at immigration as he leaves for Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage from Pakistan on May 20, 2024. (SPA/File)
- Pakistan has allocated 107,526 slots under government scheme, 71,696 for private Hajj 2027 scheme
- Government has received applications from 92,000 pilgrims with only 15,000 seats remaining, says ministry
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry said on Sunday that the country has collected over $208.8 million over the past five days in Hajj 2027 dues, as Islamabad undertakes arrangements for the annual Islamic pilgrimage to be held next year.
Pakistan has started receiving payments for both private and government Hajj schemes for next year’s pilgrimage. Every year thousands of Pakistanis travel to the Kingdom to perform Islamic rites at holy sites in Makkah and Madinah.
Pakistan has allocated 107,526 slots under the government scheme for Hajj 2027, while another 71,696 slots have been allocated to the private scheme, according to the religious affairs ministry. The government has reserved 30,000 places for the shorter package and will stop accepting payments for each scheme once its quota is filled.
“The government Hajj scheme has received applications from 92,000 pilgrims, with 15,000 seats remaining,” the religious affairs ministry said in a statement.
“Rs58 billion [$208.8 million] in dues have been collected under the government Hajj scheme within five days.”
The ministry said registration, selection of package and payment of Hajj dues can be done through the Hajj Portal and the Pak Hajj App.
It added that the digital collection of Hajj dues has been carried out on a large scale for the first time, with 40 percent of the payments made online.
The ministry said it started receiving payments for Hajj 2027 for intending pilgrims under the private scheme on Sunday, adding that Rs15 million [$54,000] were collected digitally on the first day.
The government has announced that pilgrims would pay Rs1.2 million ($4,334) for a 40-day Hajj package and Rs1.3 million ($4,695) for a shorter 20- to 25-day package under the government scheme.
