Cancellation of private Hajj quota leaves thousands of overseas Pakistanis in limbo too

Thousands of overseas Pakistanis planning to perform Hajj under Pakistan’s private Hajj scheme have been left in limbo after Saudi Arabia cancelled around 67,000 private quotas -- a disruption partly triggered by Pakistan's delayed payments to Saudi authorities.

Pilgrims from various countries who booked packages through Pakistan’s private scheme have reached out to Nukta, expressing frustration over the sudden setback.

Pakistan’s Hajj arrangements are split between a government scheme, managed directly by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and a private scheme run by approved operators offering varied packages. Both are government-regulated to maintain standards and support pilgrims.

Many overseas Pakistanis, who had opted for Pakistan’s private Hajj scheme, hoping to support the country’s economy, now face uncertainty just weeks before the pilgrimage.

'Unfair' quota burden?

Under the Ministry of Religious Affairs' Hajj policy, the government has allocated just 5,000 quotas for overseas Pakistanis through its official scheme. In contrast, private Hajj operators are required to reserve approximately 30,000 of their total 89,605 quotas for overseas applicants under a "sponsorship" model.

The Hajj Organizers Association of Pakistan (HOAP) clarified that, per government directives, each consortium of private tour operators -- referred to as a Munazzam -- must dedicate 37% of their allotment to overseas Pakistanis.

For 2025, the government has set a sponsorship quota of 30,000 for overseas Pakistanis, meaning that the funding for any overseas Pakistani or their family member wanting to perform Hajj must come from abroad. In 2024, however, the government had to return 17,000 of its 25,000 overseas sponsorship quotas to Saudi Arabia, as the Ministry of Religious Affairs failed to meet its target.

The sponsorship quota for private tour operators increased from 27,000 in 2024 to 30,000 in 2025.

This issue was raised during a Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs meeting at Parliament House on April 23, where Sanaullah Khan, representing private tour operators, criticized the government's approach.

He pointed out that while only 5,000 overseas slots were allocated under the government scheme, private operators were burdened with the responsibility of securing nearly 39% of their quota for overseas applicants -- a task he argued could have been handled by Pakistani diplomatic missions abroad.

Speaking to Nukta, Khan revealed that private operators have so far booked around 63,000 Hajj applications, out of which 27,930 belong to overseas Pakistanis from different countries.

Pilgrims share heartbreak and growing anxiety

The fallout has left overseas Pakistanis from Australia to America grappling with uncertainty. An American-Pakistani, in a video message shared with Nukta, expressed disappointment: "We chose to apply through Pakistan to send much-needed dollars home while fulfilling our religious duty. We sent our hard-earned money with love and dedication. Now we are hearing about the cancellation of the private Hajj quotas. We pray this issue is resolved soon."

Ali Syed, an overseas Pakistani living in Australia, also shared his concerns. Speaking to Nukta, he said he had planned to perform Hajj with his family this year and had already paid private tour operators and purchased return tickets to Pakistan.

"Now we are being told that nearly 70,000 private quotas have been cancelled. This uncertainty is extremely distressing, and even the private operators seem unaware of any solutions. We hope the Pakistani government will intervene quickly," he added.

Overseas Pakistanis say they are now facing a lack of communication from private tour operators, with no clear answers about their bookings and no visible action from the ministry to address the situation.

Service charge controversy

Meanwhile, a ministry official, speaking to Nukta on condition of anonymity, said that private tour operator bookings had been completed. However, under a revised quota of about 23,620 pilgrims, Saudi authorities have now asked the ministry to redistribute allocations.

The ministry, in turn, has instructed private operators to prioritize pilgrims based on a "first-come, first-served" basis.

Further investigation revealed that tour operators under Pakistan’s Private Hajj Scheme had offered nine different types of Hajj packages for 2025, with costs ranging from PKR 1.07 million to PKR 2.05 million.

One private operator told Nukta that if an average package price of PKR 1.5 million is considered, the total amount collected from 27,930 overseas Pakistanis would come to around PKR 41.8 billion. However, the actual amounts vary depending on the specific package selected.

Tour operators also pointed out that the Ministry of Religious Affairs had collected PKR 17,000 per pilgrim as service charges from private operators -- a practice that continued until March 28, 2025, even after Saudi Arabia canceled zones one and two. They questioned why the ministry continued to collect service charges despite the looming cancellation, estimating that for 63,000 pilgrims, the collected service charges alone amount to PKR 1.71 billion.

It is important to note that an administrative error involving more than 50 million riyals ($13.3 million) emerged as a key factor in Saudi Arabia’s cancellation of 67,000 Pakistani Hajj quotas, as revealed in documents obtained by Nukta.