Following a disappointing response from citizens, the federal government has decided to extend the application deadline under the sponsorship Hajj scheme by a week.
According to a local media outlet, only 3,161 individuals have so far submitted applications to perform the upcoming Hajj under the sponsorship scheme.
Furthermore, despite announcing a ten-day extension in the application deadline earlier, thousands of slots are yet to be filled under the government’s regular scheme.
The media outlet, citing sources, stated that a total of 63,000 applications have been received so far.
It is pertinent to mention that the Ministry of Religious Affairs had allocated a quota of 25,000 for the sponsorship scheme, allowing overseas Pakistanis to apply for Hajj or sponsor someone in Pakistan for the journey by paying in US dollars.
However, the low number of applications has raised serious concerns for the government.
Earlier, the ministry had taken various steps to attract more people to apply for Hajj this year.
This includes slashing Hajj expenses, conditional permission to women to perform Hajj without a male guardian, and lifting the ban on individuals who had performed Hajj in the last five years. Despite all these measures, the government is struggling to garner widespread interest and meet the targeted quota.
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Despite different relaxations provided By the govt, the low turnout of hajj applications is not at all surprising as the recent inflation has broken the back of even the middle class.
paisay hy nahi kisi ky pas, inko hajj ki parhi hy