As many as 150,000 Pakistani pilgrims will perform Hajj this year, according to Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Ijazul Haq. In a press statement, he said the Pakistan government is making efforts to provide maximum facilities to them. The minister said that nearly 90,000 persons would perform Hajj under the regular scheme this year. The pilgrims, he said, would go directly to Madinah Munawara for the first time. "The Saudi government has given approval to it," he added. Haq said top priority would be given to the pilgrims who missed their religious obligations last year. The government has reserved special quota for them, he said.
