Pakistan Economic Crisis: For the first time in 75 years, such a pauper was hit, Haj quota was withdrawn and saved 196 crores

For the first time in its history, Pakistan has given up the quota given by Saudi Arabia for Haj pilgrims. The reason behind Pakistan doing this is said to be the number of applicants not matching the number of seats available. According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the eight thousand government scheme quota has been returned. The decision was taken to save an additional $24 million (INR 196 crore) in rent payments to the government, according to local media reports citing a ministry source.

The federal administration had earlier announced that there would be no polling for Haj candidates as it estimated that there would not be enough people interested in applying. This significant change reflects the serious implications of the country’s inflation. The government had been demanding for a long time to increase the quota, but Pakistan was unable to fill its assigned quota. For the first time in a long time, Pakistan has got the full cost of the pilgrimage this year.

According to reports, the government also considered giving access to the remaining Haj quota to private Haj operators. However, it planned to release the unused quota out of concern that private operators might buy dollars on the open market.