Each year thousands of people from Pakistan perform Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah. The first priority of most people is to perform the religious obligation through Government quota because the Hajj charges of government are nominal in comparison with private travel agencies.
The total Hajj charges and fees that was charged by Pakistani government in 2018 was Rs 270,000 and Rs. 280,000 for southern and northern parts of the country. 189,210 people benefited from this, from which 10,000 quota was for applicants aging above 80 years.
It is expected that the change in cost will be only adjusted nominally next year as through such schemes government aims to facilitate the people.
The Hajj packages by private travel tour operators will differ from one company to another. The cost and charges for private Travel & Tours companies vary from Rs. 450,000-900,000.
Golden, Silver & Economy Hajj packages are offered by agencies which vary because of the time duration and facilities. Duration of Hajj vary from 38 days to just 12 days.
On the other hand Umrah packages cost much less but the new Saudi Policy means that you will be charged an extra of 2,000 SAR on your visa if you want to perform Umrah in consecutive years.
The new Hajj policy was introduced by Saudi Arabia in 2017 due to construction work the quota of each country was also reduced including Pakistan.
[junkie-alert style=”green”] Muslims from around the world perform Hajj which is considered the fifth pillar of Islam. It occurs in the month of Dhul Hijjah of Islamic calendar. [/junkie-alert]
At the end of the Hajj Muslims celebrate Eid-ul-Azha by sacrificing an animal all around the globe. As the Muslim calendar is lunar based the dates will depend on the sighting of the moon.
It is the Sunnah of Prophet Abraham which is followed by Muslims each year, in 2017 two million pilgrims from around the world performed the obligation.
Most of the pilgrimages are transported through national airlines of Pakistan including:
- Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)
- Shaheen Air International (SAI)
- Air Blue
Serene Air also started flights to Saudi Arabia in 2018, which means they may also transport pilgrims. Other foreign airlines include:
- Saudi Arabian Airline (Saudia)
- Emirates