LAHORE - The training of Hajj pilgrims selected for this year would commence from April 28 in Lahore, it emerged on Thursday. After the training, the Hajj flight operation would begin next month to transport the pilgrims to the holy land using Pakistan International Airlines and other private carriers as part of the comprehensive Hajj operation.

The Director of Hajj Lahore, Iqrar Ahmed stated that the training program for 28,000 pilgrims in Lahore, Sialkot, and Faisalabad would commence from April 28, The Nation reported.

The announcement comes after the federal government announced that there will be no balloting for Hajj this year as the number of applications received is far less than the seats available; only 72,869 applications were received against a quota of 44,190 for regular hajj scheme.

The government had set a deadline of April 2 for submitting applications under the regular Hajj scheme while the deadline was April 9th for those applying under the Sponsorship scheme; however, the decision of doing away with balloting was announced even before expiry of deadline.

Pakistan’s quota for Hajj 2023 is 179,210 pilgrims. This is the first time that the government of Saudi Arabia has restored the number of pilgrims to pre-Covid levels. 

It is to be highlighted that 50 percent quota has been reserved for Sponsorship Scheme which is a special facility given to Hajj pilgrims seeking foreign exchange from abroad in the specific dollar account of the religious affairs ministry.

The Sponsorship Hajj Scheme was introduced to inject foreign currency into the dwindling foreign exchange reserves of the country under which it was announced that those who deposit money in foreign currency would not have to go through balloting.

The Sponsorship Scheme which apparently looked lucrative did not manage to attract sizeable number of pilgrims while the figures for regular applicants have also been alarming this year. The number of vacant seats under the Sponsorship scheme was 10,000 this year.

Earlier, the Ministry of Religious Affairs contacted the Ministry of Finance and asked additional $235 million to send pilgrims on Hajj.

It is note worthy that this is the first time Saudi Arabia would be welcoming pilgrims in large numbers i.e around 2.3 after the pandemic restrictions have been lifted. Around one million people joined the 2022 Hajj season and only those in age bracket 18 to 65 who were fully vaccinated or immunised against the virus and did not suffer from chronic diseases were allowed to visit the kingdom.