ISLAMABAD:A total of 1,84,210 (One hundred eighty-four thousand two hundred and ten) Pakistani pilgrims will perform Hajj this year.
This was announced by Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri after performing balloting under Government Hajj Scheme here on Tuesday.
He said one hundred twelve thousand five hundred and twenty-six people will perform Hajj under the government scheme while seventy-one thousand six hundred and eighty-four people will go for Hajj under private Hajj scheme.
He said the intending pilgrims who have been applying for Hajj for the last three years will be allowed to perform Hajj without balloting. Similarly, the pilgrims above eighty years of age will also be allowed for Hajj without balloting.
He said a revolutionary step this year is that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman has announced to include Pakistani Hujjaj in the Road to Mecca programme, under which the pilgrims will be provided Customs Clearance and Immigration facility at Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar airports.
He said a high level Saudi delegation will visit Pakistan next month to work out modalities of the scheme.