Shafaqna Pakistan: The federal government has fixed October 20 as the deadline for pilgrims selected under the government Hajj scheme to pay the second installment of their pilgrimage expenses, the Ministry of Religious Affairs said late Friday.
Pakistan has allocated 107,526 Hajj slots under the government scheme for next year, including 30,000 places for a shorter-duration package, while another 71,696 slots have been reserved for pilgrims travelling under the private Hajj scheme.
The government completed the online booking of all available places under its Hajj scheme on August 25, marking the first occasion on which the entire government quota was filled through a digital reservation system.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Ministry of Religious Affairs cautioned that applications submitted by intending pilgrims for next year’s Hajj would be cancelled if the required payments were not deposited by the October 20 deadline.
“The dates for depositing the second installment of dues for Hajj pilgrims under the government scheme have been set for October 5 to October 20, 2026,” the ministry said.
“The Ministry stated that failure to deposit the second installment by the deadline will result in the cancelation of the pilgrim’s application, and the amount previously deposited will be refunded to the pilgrim’s account.”
Pilgrims under the government scheme can deposit the second installment of Hajj dues via the ‘Pak Hajj App’ or the digital Hajj portal during the specified period.
The ministry clarified that uploading the Hajj medical fitness certificate to the ‘Pak Hajj’ app or the digital Hajj portal was mandatory before depositing the second installment.
The government this year announced that pilgrims would pay Rs1.2 million ($4,334) for a 40-day Hajj package and Rs1.3 million ($4,695) for a shorter, 20- to 25-day package under the government scheme.
Payments of first installment of dues for seats under the shorter government package were completed within 24 hours after the process began on Aug. 18, while the remaining seats under the scheme were booked by Aug. 25.
Source: Dunya News
