ISLAMABAD: Tough confusion over Haj charges still persists, banks have received 57,593 applications against 32,453 seats allocated under the low cost government Haj scheme.

The seats under the government scheme account for 40pc of the total quota allocated by Saudi Arabia to Pakistan for Haj 2022.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs released the total figure of applications received by banks for Haj 2022 after the expiry of May 13 deadline for submitting applications.

The banks will complete online data entry and verification of all applications by Saturday and transfer it to the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Balloting for official Haj scheme will be held on Sunday and the ministry will forward confirmation messages to successful applicants.

The applicants can also verify their data from the website of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Incidentally, the ministry has enhanced the quota for the private tour operators to 60pc, whereas 40pc has been allocated for the government scheme.

However, the official charges for the government Haj scheme have yet not been finalised and the applicants have been informed that the charges could be between Rs700,000 and Rs1 million.

The Minister for Religious Affairs Mufti Abdul Shakoor is currently in Saudi Arabia to oversee the arrangements and discuss the final charges with the authorities there.

Responding to a query, a senior official of the ministry of religious affairs said the higher cost has been anticipated from the facilities provided by the Saudi authorities and the taxations there.

“Unfortunately, the Saudi authorities have not intimated us about their charges, and taxes, and it was expected that they will be increased significantly based on the initial discussions with them,” the official added.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2022