Over 75% of Pakistani Hajj pilgrims pay second installment digitally on opening day
- More than 14,600 pilgrims make payments worth Rs9.3 billion ($33 million) as collection begins
- Pakistan has allocated 107,526 government slots from its 179,210 quota for Hajj 2027
ISLAMABAD: More than three-quarters of Pakistani pilgrims paying the second installment for next year’s Hajj used digital channels on the opening day, the religious affairs ministry said on Tuesday, as Islamabad moves toward an increasingly digital system for managing the annual pilgrimage.
Pakistan has been allocated 179,210 places for Hajj 2027, with 107,526 reserved for the government scheme and 71,684 for private operators. All places under the government scheme were booked in August through an online reservation system, according to the ministry.
The digital push forms part of Pakistan’s first four-year Hajj policy, covering 2027-2030, which replaces annual policies and calls for the digitization of payments, complaints and monitoring as authorities seek to improve transparency and oversight of pilgrimage operations.
“More than 75 percent of pilgrims made their payments online from home through the Digital Hajj Portal,” a religious affairs ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
The ministry said 14,605 pilgrims paid their second installment on Monday, bringing in Rs9.3 billion ($33 million). Of those, 10,000 paid from home through the OneLink payment network, while 899 used bank cards and 3,612 opted for manual bank challans.
The deadline for pilgrims under the government scheme to pay the second installment is Oct. 20, according to the ministry. Pilgrims must upload a medical fitness certificate to the Hajj portal before making the payment. The ministry’s website lists the second-installment collection period as Oct. 5-20.
Pakistan has increasingly moved Hajj registration, payments and other services online after problems with private operators contributed to tens of thousands of Pakistanis missing the pilgrimage in 2025.
Under the new system, registration for Hajj 2027 was made mandatory for both government and private pilgrims and could be completed from home through the Hajj portal or Pak Hajj mobile application. The four-year policy also allows prospective pilgrims to register continuously for future Hajj seasons through 2030, creating a priority waiting list rather than requiring a new registration exercise each year.
The government has also moved private Hajj bookings and payments online. The National Information Technology Board says 25 approved Hajj companies have uploaded 16 basic packages to the digital system, while the ministry has instructed private pilgrims to make payments through official digital channels rather than directly to operators.
Government packages for Hajj 2027 have been set at Rs1.2 million ($4,300) for the standard roughly 40-day program and Rs1.3 million ($4,660) for a shorter 20-25-day option.
The 2027 allocation is unchanged from Pakistan’s 179,210-person quota for Hajj 2026, but the distribution has shifted. The 2026 policy allocated 119,210 places to the government scheme and capped the private scheme at 60,000, compared with 107,526 government and 71,684 private places for 2027.
SOURCE: ARABNEWPK
