October 30, 2003	Thursday	Ramazan 3, 1424

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ISLAMABAD Oct 29: Names of 10,000 Hajj pilgrims were selected from 13,415 applicants on Wednesday through a computerised balloting in the ministry of religious affairs.

The balloting was held under the ministry’s open Hajj scheme.

The government has, under an agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, been forced to cut the number of Hajj pilgrims to 130,000 in contrast to 146,000 sent in 2002 because of various problems, including that of accommodation.

The computerised balloting was devised by experts hired by the ministry and checked by E-government, the organisers had said on the occasion.

After the completion of the two ballots, the process of selection of Hajj pilgrims is finished and the Hajj flights will commence from Dec 26 for which PIA has been asked to finalise the schedule.

In the draw held on Oct 23, 120,000 pilgrims were selected from a total of over 164,000 applicants under the regular Hajj scheme.

The ministry has so far arranged accommodations for some 70,000 pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah while arrangements for the rest would be handled by tour operators.

Tour operators have been asked by the ministry to submit papers proving arrangement of accommodations by Nov 15 otherwise pilgrims recommended by them would not be allowed to depart for Hajj.

Syed Abdul Qadir Jamluddin Al Gilani, chairman of the National Assembly’s standing committee on religious affairs and chairman of the ad hoc committee on Hajj, said the balloting was organised in a foolproof and transparent manner.

He said, all quotas had been discontinued by the prime minister on the suggestion of the committee.