ISLAMABAD, Sept 25: The government will spend $125 million on arrangements being made for Pakistani pilgrims for the forthcoming Haj-2003, the joint secretary (Haj), Ministry of Religious Affairs, Zakat and Ushr, Mohammad Azam Rathore said.

He was speaking at a one-day refresher course for resource persons/NGOs, held under the auspices of the religious affairs ministry at Madinatual Hajaj (Haji Camp) here on Wednesday.

The course was attended by representatives of resource persons/NGOs from all over the country. Director Haji Camp Syed Sultan Ali Shah and officials of the ministry were also present on the occasion.

The joint secretary said the ministry would receive $85 million from the pilgrims who perform Haj under regular and sponsorship schemes. The remaining expenditure of $40 million will be shared by the government, he added.

He said official residence shall be mandatory for pilgrims who perform Haj under the regular scheme while pilgrims proceeding for Haj on their own will have to submit proof of their residential accommodation by November 30, after which, permission for Haj will not be granted, he added.

Mr Rathore further said the rate of exchange with the State Bank of Pakistan had been fixed at Rs62 per dollar. In case of fluctuation in dollar’s rate, the outstanding amount would be refunded to the pilgrims, he added.

The joint secretary said a medical mission comprising 300 allopathic doctors, homeopathic doctors, Hakims and para medical staff would be sent to Saudi Arabia for medical care of Pakistani pilgrims. In addition, 25 private medical practitioners will also be included in the Haj medical mission, he added.

The ministry is arranging services of 250 Khudamul Hajaj. These Khudam will be selected from army, police and scouts.

He said vaccines against meningitis was being imported and would be made available at all Haji camps well before the start of Haj season.

The ministry will distribute 25,000 video cassettes amongst the group leaders to educate them about Haj rituals, while a documentary film would be prepared by next month in collaboration with the PTV to facilitate pilgrims during Haj.

Mr Rathore said 50,000 pilgrims would perform Haj this year under the regular scheme. Similarly, he said, 60,000 intending Hajis under sponsorship scheme and 15,000 under the open Haj scheme would perform Haj this year.

He informed the course participants that a total of 8,500 more pilgrims would perform Haj this year as compared to the last year. Moreover, he said, as many Pakistanis go to Saudi Arabia for performing Haj from other countries as well, the total number of Pakistanis performing Haj this year is expected to touch 140,000 mark.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the ministry said the intending pilgrims would have to stay at the respective Haji camps for 48 hours prior to their departure for Saudi Arabia in order to acquaint them with Haj rituals so that they may not face any difficulty there.

This is part of the concerted measures the ministry intending to take with a view to facilitate the pilgrims proceeding for Haj.

The spokesman said Haj groups would be formed on regional language basis and the performance of the Haj Directorate would be improved and coordinated. He said the seasonal staff would be imparted necessary training so that they could be really useful to the pilgrims during their stay in the holy land. Refresher and Arabic language courses would be arranged for the seasonal staff, he said. — APP