The government will provide a Rs150,000 subsidy to each Hajj pilgrim, Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Mufti Abdul Shakoor announced Tuesday, while breaking down the expenses on the pilgrimage.

“Total expenses on Hajj will be Rs860,000, while for the Southern region these expenses would be Rs850,000,” the minister said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.

Breakdown of expenses

These are the expenses:

• Rs112,000 - stay in Makkah
• Rs38,000 - stay in Madina
• Rs84,500 - transport
• Rs56,000 - food
• Rs300,000 - Hajj expenses for Saudi Arabia
• Rs45,000 - animal sacrifice
• Rs16,000 - visa fee

He said expenses on the pilgrimage continued to rise over the last two years. However, the coalition government tried its best to reduce them as much as it could.

The fare for Hajj pilgrims from Karachi and Quetta would range from $810 to $1,100 and from Lahore, Islamabad, Multan and Peshawar from $860 to $1,150, according to a document issued by the Pakistan International Airlines on Monday.

Hajj quota for Pakistan

The minister said Pakistan received a limited Hajj quota this year due to Covid-19. The country’s quota has been reduced from 180,000 to 81,210.

In April, the Saudi government announced the second highest quota for Pakistani pilgrims for Hajj 2022, at 81,132 people.

The minister had vowed that he would announce the details of the new Hajj packages after he successfully negotiated a lower price per pilgrim with the Saudi government.

Last week on the floor of the House, Abdul Shakoor gave extensive details of how his trip to Saudi Arabia was funded and vowed that Hajj would be lower than Rs650,000 this year.

At least 31,253 pilgrims will perform Hajj through the government scheme this year.

Hajj flight operation

The first PIA flight for the pilgrims will leave for Madina from Islamabad on June 6.

The national carrier will transport at least 40,000 pilgrims on 400 flights to and from Saudi Arabia during the Hajj operations.