Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
A legislative body of Upper House of Parliament on Wednesday suggested the government that a policy must be formulated to ensure that the pilgrimage can only be repeated after five years. The legislators were of the view that some people went on Hajj every year because they have resources. Such a tradition deprived others people who want to perform Hajj and suggested that replication should be done after five years. The legislators were of the view that it would ensure minimal flow of dollars outside Pakistan; essential for stabilization of the economy.
The suggestion was made in the Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs, which held today in parliament Loges while Senator Molana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri was on chair. Discussing the Hajj Policy 2023 the Committee was informed that the annual Hajj agreement has been signed. The quota for Pakistan Hujjaj in 2023 has been determined to 179210 persons. Three percent of total allocation will be dedicated for hardship cases and 500 allocations have been made for low paid and labour quota. A waiting list of 448 Hajj aspirants will be maintained. Vaccinations will be mandatory and in order to ensure facilitation of Hujjaj a service providing agreement will be signed by HGOs. Leadership for the medical mission has been selected. Tenders for procurement of vaccinations and other important equipment have been issued.
Matters discussed included the Publication of the Holy Quran (Elimination of Printing and Recording Errors) (Amendment) Bill, 2022; details of expenditures incurred on Gurdawara Punja Sahib, Hassan Abdalby ETB, Hajj Policy 2023; report published in a local newspaper on distortions in translations of the Holy Quran.
Deliberating over the Holy Quran (Elimination of Printing and Recording Errors) (Amendment) Bill, 2022; the Committee was informed that the main focus of the Bill was to ensure that error free copies of the Holy Quran are printed.
