By Asif Naveed
ISLAMABAD; Bookings under Pakistan’s Private Hajj Scheme have been moving at a sluggish pace, raising concerns that thousands of pilgrims may miss the opportunity to perform Hajj this year if the situation does not improve.
According to sources, the Ministry of Religious Affairs is considering merging the unutilized quota of the private scheme into the government scheme if booking targets are not met by the deadline.
Figures show that private Hajj operators have managed to book only 9,295 pilgrims over the past 15 days, averaging 620 bookings per day. This is well below the required daily average of 2,075 bookings needed to fill the available quota before the October 17 deadline.
Private operators began the booking process on September 19, with a target of filling over 29,000 seats. With just 14 days remaining, they still need to book 29,051 slots, sources added.
This year, the government reduced the private operators’ quota from 90,000 to 60,000 pilgrims, while also directing them to accommodate 21,654 pilgrims who were unable to travel for Hajj last year. Combining last year’s pending pilgrims with the new bookings, operators have so far managed to secure reservations for 30,949 seats out of a total quota of 38,346.
Sources revealed that the Ministry of Religious Affairs has already issued written instructions to private operators, urging them to speed up the booking process to avoid any lapse in their quota.
If private operators fail to complete bookings by the set deadline, the unbooked seats will be shifted to the government Hajj quota to ensure maximum utilization.
The final deadline for private Hajj bookings is October 17, and the Ministry is closely monitoring the situation to avoid disruption to Pakistan’s overall Hajj operations.
