In a significant move, the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Pakistan has opted to give back over 21,000 Hajj quotas to Saudi Arabia within the government scheme.
Rather than assigning these quotas to the 5,633 individuals who were unsuccessful in the regular Hajj scheme draw, the decision has been made to refund their money.
The regular Hajj scheme saw 69,438 applications, with only 63,805 being selected, leaving 5,633 applicants without a quota.
Additionally, the Sponsorship Hajj Scheme, which had a 25,000 quota, received just 4,000 applications, resulting in more than 21,000 unutilized quotas set to be returned to Saudi Arabia.
