Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Haj and Umrah has refuted claims that funds from thousands of Pakistani Haj pilgrims were mistakenly sent to the wrong bank account, emphasising that the Kingdom’s digital Haj platform maintains the “utmost levels of transparency,” Arab News Pakistan reported on Tuesday.

The clarification followed reports from [multiple] Pakistani media outlets last week, which claimed that over 67,000 Pakistani pilgrims might experience delays in their Haj travel due to millions of Saudi Riyals intended for their expenses being erroneously transferred to an incorrect bank account.

“Recent claims in some Pakistani media outlets about ‘Haj funds being sent to the wrong Saudi account’ are baseless and stem from a misunderstanding of the Haj account management system and the ministry’s official electronic Haj platform, which ensures the highest standards of transparency and accuracy,” Arab News Pakistan quoted an official of the Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah as saying.

According to the report, the official said that while Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry had finalised all contracts for its pilgrims without significant issues, several Pakistani private firms missed the deadline to secure their pilgrims’ contracts.

He told the outlet that this recurring issue from previous years has led to incomplete entry processes, preventing these pilgrims from participating in Haj in the Kingdom.

Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had reprimanded officials from the religious affairs ministry for their alleged negligence that jeopardised the departure of 67,000 potential Pakistani pilgrims this year, assuring that he would take up the matter with the Saudi government to resolve the issue.

Local media had reported that private Haj operators failed to meet the Kingdom’s requirements, depriving the 67,000 intending pilgrims of performing Haj this year.

However, private Haj operators blamed the Saudi government for the delay, claiming they had sent the payments before the deadline, but the Saudi software system crashed.

The final date for issuing visas was April 18, as per the Saudi deadline, leaving the fate of the 67,000 pilgrims uncertain.

Meanwhile, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported that Pakistan’s Haj 2025 operations officially began on Tuesday morning, with the departure of the first Haj flight from Islamabad to Madinah.

“The inaugural flight, PK-713, took off at 5:21 AM, carrying 427 pilgrims who will perform the sacred journey in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the report said.

In 2025, Pakistan’s Haj quota was set at 179,210, with half of the quota meant to be managed by private Haj operators. However, only 23,000 people were able to go under private operators.

Haj, one of the fundamental pillars of Islam, is performed each year by millions of Muslims worldwide. Pakistan receives one of the highest Haj quotas from Saudi Arabia.