FINANCE Minister Ishaq Dar says on the instruction of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, his Ministry is planning to entertain all Hajj applications under government quota without balloting for Hajj 2023. During a media briefing along with Minister for Religious Affairs Mufti Abdul Shakoor in Islamabad on Thursday, he said the quota of hajj under the government scheme will be increased to 72869 as it is the total number of applications received under this scheme.
This is, indeed, a positive development and the Government deserves credit for adopting a pro-pilgrims posture despite economic and financial difficulties. Hajj expenditure has increased dramatically mainly due to a steep fall in the value of rupee and the government was finding it difficult to arrange the required foreign exchange for the purpose. It was in this backdrop that a decision was taken to introduce a sponsorship scheme but that too did not evoke an enthusiastic response. Therefore, the government has now decided to accept all the applications received under the Regular Hajj Scheme. The country is still in a difficult financial position but the decision of the Finance Minister, under instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is reflective of a somewhat comfortable feeling of the Government. It may, however, be pointed out that the total number of applicants would have been much higher if there was no phenomenal increase in the Hajj charges for the year. There is, therefore, a need to come up with innovative ideas to help bring down the cost so that the maximum number of people could avail the opportunity of visiting the holy land.
