ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Saturday assured Minister for Religious Affairs Mufti Abdul Shakoor of the availability of foreign exchange for Hajj arrangements under sponsorship scheme and regular Hajj scheme of the government.
After this assurance, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has decided to start receiving applications from March 13 for both the schemes, official sources said. As per the practice of the past, the applications will be received at the bank branches designated by the government. said.
Hajj expenses are expected to be between Rs 1.1 million and 1.2 million after the depreciation of the currency against the US dollar. The formal announcement of submission of Hajj applications will be made by the Federal Cabinet next week after the approval of the Hajj Policy.
During the meeting, the Finance Minister assured the Religious Affairs Minister that despite all the obstacles, all possible cooperation including the availability of foreign exchange for the Hajj operation will be ensured.
Under the sponsorship scheme, there will be a 50 percent quota and only overseas Pakistanis and their relatives will benefit from it. Overseas Pakistanis will pay Hajj expenses in foreign currency in designated bank accounts.
However, a Pakistani passport will be mandatory to benefit from the sponsorship scheme. On the other hand, the remaining 50 percent quota will be given to government Hajj and private schemes.
The Finance Minister said that the government’s hands are tied due to the previous government’s IMF agreement. “But still, we will ensure all possible measures to facilitate the guests of Allah,” Ishaq Dar said.
