05 July 2004	Monday	16 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

ISLAMABAD, July 4: Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Mohammad Ejazul Haq has said 240 private Haj organizers have been registered with the ministry.

These organizers will be responsible for sending 50,000 pilgrims under the private Haj scheme, the minister said at a press conference held at Haj Camp here on Sunday.

He said this year, 150,000 Pakistani would perform Haj under the current policy. As many as 100,000 pilgrims will be sent under the government scheme. A monitoring cell has also been set up in the ministry, which will monitor the working of the private Haj organizers.

Under the private Haj scheme, applications will be received from July 5-25, the inister said. He said every Haj organizer was bound to provide a copy of Haj packages, including detail of all facilities/services and bank account, to the applicant as well as to the ministry.

Since this is the beginning of private sector's involvement in this regard, a lenient view has been taken and the condition of six years experience relaxed. New comer has been allocated 100 seats, while 200 and above seats have been allocated to experienced organizers, he added.