LAHORE, May 22: The Lahore High Court chief justice on Wednesday sought a report from the Ministry of Religious Affairs about scrutiny of Haj Group Organisers (HGOs).

An additional attorney general told the court that 82 HGOs were under scrutiny and some of them had been cleared. He said the report would be submitted soon. The chief justice directed the ministry not to issue reorganisation letters to the HGOs facing scrutiny process and adjourned hearing till May 30.

Many private tour operators/HGOs filed petitions challenging the Haj policy 2013. They submitted that the LHC had ordered the ministry to allocate quota among the newly-registered operators but the order was ignored. The petitioners also challenged increase in Haj expenditure by 40 per cent and said a large number of intending pilgrims would not be able to perform Haj. — Staff Reporter