Only 23,620 Pakistani pilgrims will be able to carry out the HAJJ as part of the private program in 2025, the Ministry of Religious Affairs announced Thursday, marking a significant reduction of more than 66,000 compared to the initially allocated private quota.
The development comes after Pakistan received a total quota from the Hajj of 179,000 pilgrims by the Saudi government, on the basis of the population. From this, 89,801 seats were reserved for private operators in Hajj.
However, due to the non-compliance of Saudi reservation regulations, the private sector has failed to guarantee accommodation in Mina, a compulsory requirement for private operators in Hajj, before the deadline of February 14 set by the Saudi authorities.
About 12,500 reservations were successfully completed via the Saudi portal designated before being closed, officials said.
Sources in the ministry noted that the Saudi authorities have refused to extend the deadline, despite calls. The government had authorized private tour operators to start transferring funds to Saudi Arabia from January 10, but many operators failed to respect the cut on February 14.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Religious Affairs announced that 23,620 pilgrims could carry out the Hajj as part of the Pakistan private program for 2025.
The update list of approved service providers was made available on the official website of the Ministry of Religious Affairs (and the Pak Hajj 2025 mobile application.
The ministry has urged all the pilgrims who reserved via registered Hajj group organizers (HGO) to verify their request for requests and contracts using these online platforms.
In addition, the ministry ordered registered companies to issue updated contracts from the HAJJ and to ensure that the processing of visas is completed by April 18, 2025, in accordance with the requirements set by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and UMRA.
For queries or complaints, the ministry’s surveillance section and the HGOS section can be reached via:
Monitoring: 051-9218571 | Email: [email protected]
Hgos: 051-9207519 | Email: [email protected]
