Saudi Arabia has approved an extra quota of 10,000 pilgrims for Pakistan, ARY News reported on Friday.
The decision comes after Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar made a special request to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. The approval is aimed at accommodating Pakistani pilgrims who were unable to register before the official deadline.
The request was granted following efforts made by Ishaq Dar under the direction of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. With this increase, a total of 189,210 Pakistani pilgrims will now be able to perform Hajj this year.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered an immediate inquiry into the reduction of the private Hajj quota, which left thousands of Pakistani pilgrims unable to proceed with their plans for Hajj 2025.
A three-member committee was formed to investigate the matter and determine who was responsible for the failure to secure the quota on time.