Pakistan s Hajj policy for 2008 will be announced by July 2008, said Religious Affairs Ministry Secretary Wakeel Ahmed Khan. He told the reporters that his ministry has started work to come up with a Hajj policy for this year so that Pakistani pilgrims can get better service and comfort. Khan that because of the continuous rise in fuel prices, the Pakistan International Airlines or PIA is not able to announce the new airfares to Saudi Arabia from Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Faisalabad. We are hopeful that the Hajj policy will be finalized between March and April, 2008, the secretary said. However, the new policy will only be a modification of our 2004 policy which will remain valid till 2009. Every year, given the specific requirements, amendments are made to the Hajj policy after recommendations from private Hajj tour operators. New policies from Saudi Arabia are also considered.
