Pakistan's Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah (C) flanked by Ambassador Muhammad Naeem Khan (R) and Consul General Aftab A. Khokher (L) at a dinner in Jeddah Saturday. — SG photo Higher quota sought for upcoming Haj season Mahmood Hasan Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Pakistan has asked Saudi Arabia to increase its Haj quota by 20,000 for the upcoming Haj season. Pakistan's Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, talking to media persons at the residence of Consul General of Pakistan Aftab A. Khokher here Saturday night, said: “Pakistan has a quota of around 180,000 pilgrims this year, but we have again requested the Saudi authorities to increase it by 20,000." The Pakistani minister had a detailed meeting with Saudi Haj Minister Dr. Bandar Bin Mohammad Al-Hajjar Saturday, where they discussed ways to improve the services for Hajis. The minister said Haj applications this year would again be accepted on first-come-first-served basis. The 180,000 pilgrims would be divided 50:50 between the government and the private Haj companies. He pointed out that airfare remained the same the last two years. “This year, however, it will go up. The final cost of the Haj package is still being worked out," said the minister. Shah said the Saudi side wants most of the Hajis from Pakistan to land in Madinah. He said: “I also wish it was possible, but Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has some route issues. We will, however, look into it again. Anyhow, we will be sending 40,000 pilgrims to Madinah this year." This move in fact would save pilgrims time and travel expenses since they would not have to travel the same route twice. Once they land in Madinah, they would stay in Makkah till Haj. Al-Hajjar, kicking off the annual round of meetings with Haj delegations, urged the delegation to help prepare the pilgrims for Haj before they begin their journey. Shah asked the Saudi side to hand over field offices to the respective bodies at least a fortnight before the season starts so they can plan things accordingly. The Haj missions, according to the visiting minister, are given the field offices only days before the Haj season. Ambassador Muhammad Naeem Khan, who was also part of the Pakistani delegation that met Al-Hajjar, said they also raised the issue of permits issued annually to buildings in the holy cities. “We asked the minister to look into the possibility of issuing the permits for three years, so that we can contract the same buildings for three years. We would not have to run around looking for buildings every year." Shah pointed out that he has instructed the Pakistan Haj Mission to hire buildings in the same vicinity so that it is easy to look after the pilgrims. “The hiring process has started. We used to hire around 350 buildings. In 2011 we brought this number down to 180 buildings. The figure further came down to 140 the next year. This year we do not want to hire more than 100 buildings. “The bigger the buildings and the closer they are to one another, the better we will be able to serve the pilgrims," he said. The minister said the mission will again be looking for buildings in Aziziah district in Makkah. That way they increase the number of buses ferrying pilgrims to and from the Haram mosque. It would help facilitate the pilgrims further, he added. In reply to a question regarding pilgrims' transportation services, Syed Abu Ahmed Akif, Director General Haj, Pakistan, said: “We hire the buses ourselves on a daily basis. We manage them ourselves. Two motorway officers, both in the rank of deputy inspector general, come from Pakistan and handle the bus movement." Talking about the tracking system, which was introduced last year, Akif said: “It was not successful." Pakistani pilgrims are issued tracking tags in addition to tags issued to them from Pakistan's Ministry of Haj and their field office. Pakistani pilgrims were initially issued the tracking tags, but the authorities noted that most of the pilgrims were not wearing them and thus stopped issuing them. “This year, however, the Haj Mission is working on ways to add the radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip into the main tag issued by the Ministry in Pakistan. This way the Haji will be have only one tag to wear," the Haj Mission official added. The visiting minister made it clear to the press that he is doing his utmost to make the 2013 Haj as comfortable for pilgrims as possible, but he will not be there to see the operations since his government's mandate will expire mid-March. We will make the policy and hand it over by mid-March, but a lot will depend on the interim set-up," he added.
