ISLAMABAD: In the backdrop of the slow response, the federal government extended the deadline for submission of applications for the upcoming Hajj for those opting for the government scheme.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has now extended the deadline by a week considering that the number of applications still falls below the allocated seats; the total number of seats allocated to Pakistan is around 180,000.
The government had initially set December 12th as the deadline which was extended till December 22nd. To attract the applicants, the government had also permitted those who had performed Hajj in the last 5 years to apply for the upcoming Hajj.
The government has introduced the Short Hajj package while the Sponsorship Scheme is also valid for this year as well.
As far as the Long Hajj is concerned, it would encompass 38-42 days with 8 days stay in Medinah and those flying from the South region i.e. Karachi, and Sukkhur would have to pay Rs 10,65,000 while those from other cities i.e. Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Sialkot, Faisalabad would pay Rs 10,75,000.
For Sponsorship scheme applicants, the cost is $3765 for the South Region while it is $ 3800 for the North Region for those opting for the Long Hajj package.
For the Short Hajj package, the cost for regular Hajj applicants is Rs 11,40,000 for the South region while the cost is Rs 11,50,000 for the North region; the Hajj would continue for 20-25 days under this scheme.
For the Sponsorship Scheme, the cost for Short Hajj is USD 4015 for the South region and $ 4050 for the North region.
The government had also sought the support of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to launch awareness campaigns to attract more and more applicants though the inflation in the country is visibly discouraging Muslims from applying for the spiritual journey.
