As many as 179,210 Pakistani pilgrims would perform Hajj in 2025, Religious Affairs Minister and Interfaith Harmony Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain said on Monday as he unveiled the Hajj Policy 2025 in Islamabad on Monday.

“The Hajj quota has been divided with a ratio of 50:50 between the government and private Hajj schemes,” he told a press conference, Radio Pakistan reported.

The Haj, one of the five pillars of Islam, must be performed at least once by all Muslims with the means, and more than 1.83 million pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia in 2024 from abroad to take part.

Last year saw more than 1.8 million people complete the Haj rites which last for several days. Around 90 per cent came from overseas, mainly from elsewhere in the Arab world and from Asia, according to official figures.

Religious Minister Salik said that 89,605 seats have been reserved each for the government and the private schemes. “Five thousand seats will be kept for sponsorship scheme under the Government Hajj Scheme while 30,000 seats will be allocated to the private Hajj tour operators for sponsorship,” he said.

“It is mandatory to send foreign exchange through the banking channel to participate in the sponsorship scheme.”

Salik clarified that the government sponsorship scheme would operate on a ‘first come, first served’ basis and would be exempted from balloting. The foreign exchange collected through the sponsorship scheme would be used “solely for Hajj-related expenses in Saudi Arabia,” he added.

Under the Government Hajj Scheme, he said the long stay would be 38 to 42 days and the short stay would be 20 to 25 days. Each organised private Hajj group must consist of at least 2,000 pilgrims as per Saudi regulations, he added.

While talking about the expenses, Salik mentioned that the cost for the government scheme is expected to range between Rs1,075,000 to Rs1,175,000 while the additional cost for the sacrifice would be Rs55,000.

The minister stated that applicants opting for double-bed and triple-bed accommodations in Makkah would need to deposit an additional amount of Rs220,000 and Rs75,000 respectively.

The first instalment of Hajj dues, amounting to Rs200,000, must be deposited along with the Hajj application under the Government Hajj Scheme, Salik said and added that the second instalment of Rs400,000 must be deposited within 10 days of the balloting.

The remaining amount must be deposited by February 10 next year, he said.

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“There will be no deduction for refunds if an application is withdrawn before the last date of submission, however, there will be a deduction of Rs50,000 on refund of the first instalment after the balloting. A deduction of Rs200,000 rupees will be made if the third instalment is not deposited.”

The minister stated that no refund of the remaining amount would be made after February 10 next year. In case of the applicant’s death, he said the aforementioned deductions would not be applied.

When asked, Salik said: “Hajj applications will be received from November 18 to December 3 while balloting will be held on November 6.”