Haj 2024: ‘Govt making efforts to ensure all facilities at Haji camps’

QUETTA: Caretaker Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Aneeq Ahmed on Wednesday said the government is making efforts to fulfill all the needs of the Haji camps to facilitate the pilgrims better for Haj 2024.

During his visit to the Haji camp in Quetta, he said the purpose of visiting camps for Haj 2024 is to review the facilities provided to the pilgrims.

The minister said the government has inked various agreements to provide better facilities to the pilgrims.

Aneeq Ahmed said the government has already completed all the Haj arrangements which will take place in June. He said the reason for the decline in Haj 2024 applications is the repatriation of Afghan refugees who used to perform Haj illegally on Pakistani passports.

He added a mobile app has been launched for the convenience of the pilgrims.

Aneeq Ahmed said each pilgrim is given a bag of 30kg capacity, which will contain a QR code with the details of all the pilgrims.

The minister stated that the ministry will provide abayas with the Pakistani flag embossed for female pilgrims this year. He added that the services of AirSial, Airblue and Saudi Arabian Airlines are being taken to transport the pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year.

Last week, Secretary Religious Affairs Atta-ur-Rehman outlined the government’s concerted efforts to enhance facilities for all pilgrims embarking on this sacred journey.

Talking to the state-owned television channel, he stated that as the balloting for Haj 2024 was announced, the Ministry of Religious Affairs was gearing up for the preparation of Haj 2024.

According to details, 69,438 applications were received under the Regular Haj Scheme, and 63,805 of them were successful in the balloting. “A waiting list of 5,633 unsuccessful applicants has been prepared based on their cities of departure,” he added.

The secretary said that for the first time ever, short Haj is being facilitated by the Pakistani authorities.