Haj policy challenged in LHC

LAHORE: Haj policy 2019 has been challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC) through a writ petition.

Petitioner advocate Asif Mehmood says in the petition that the government has increased the amount of the government Haj scheme for a person from Rs280,000 to Rs456,000. “The government has withdrawn the subsidy offered to the pilgrims and made the pilgrimage 65 per cent expensive,” the petition says. The petitioner alleged that the Haj expenses have been increased to illegally earn profits from the scheme.

Federal government on January 30 withdrew subsidy on the pilgrimage, increasing the expenses by Rs176,000 for each pilgrim. He further says in the petition that private tour operators have announced a lesser amount of Rs375,000 for Haj as compared to the government.

Under the new Haj policy, more than 184,000 Pakistanis will perform Haj this year, with 60 per cent quota of pilgrims reserved for the government-sponsored Haj scheme and remaining 40 per cent for the pilgrims who will travel through private hajj tour operators.