Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sahibzada Noor-ul-Haq Friday strongly denied omitting the oath regarding finality of the prophethood from Hajj application form.
Briefing the National Assembly standing committee on Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony chaired by Maulana Asad Mehmood, he said he was not taken into confidence before removing the oath from hajj data form.
However, the oath for finality of prophethood had been included in other page of the hajj application form, he said adding “no bad intention was involved in all episode”.
He, however, said investigations would be carried out to ascertain real motive of omitting oath from the one page.
Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Secretary Mian Mushtaq Borana told the committee that the 14 page Hajj form had been simplified to only two pages.
One page still contained oath of the finality of the prophethood of the holy prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), he added.
The committee also contemplated the reasons of increase in hajj expenses.
The committee was told that Saudi government had imposed Riyal 300 as visa fee and Riyal 110 as insurance fee. Hajj package could be reduced by excluding these expenses.
The secretary said over 40,000 applications for securing a berth in Government Hajj Scheme had so far been received.
The minister told the committee that the government would follow Saudi instructions about coronavirus and Hajj would be followed in letter and spirit.
