According to a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs presided over by Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Hyderi, the leader of the JUIF, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has instituted the abbreviated Hajj for Pakistani pilgrims.
Aneeq Ahmed, the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, stated that the pilgrims themselves will decide whether to perform the shorter Hajj, which will last 18 to 20 days.
The Pakistani Ministry of Religion begins a brief Hajj
The head of the committee gave the following instruction: “The short Hajj should last between 18 and 30 days.”
The interim minister stated that the suggestion will be carefully studied.
Authorities in Saudi Arabia have also been instructed to reduce the 905 Hajj firms to 46.
During his recent visit to the kingdom, Aneeq Ahmed spoke with the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, about plans for the next pilgrimage season.
Ahmed met with key officials during his week-long visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss the extension of the Makkah Route Initiative and how to make it more convenient for Pakistani pilgrims outside of Islamabad.
Ahmed declared that Saudi Arabia had agreed to improve facilities for Pakistani pilgrims preparing for Hajj in the future year after his talk with the Saudi minister.
He highlighted the necessity of quickly settling the pilgrims’ lodging, feeding, and transport plans.
Ahmed also requested that the travel schedule for Pakistani pilgrims be finalized as soon as possible and encouraged that they be lodged close to the sacred locations in a statement released by his ministry.
He argued for the Makkah Route project’s expansion to include cities besides Islamabad in order to improve the accessibility and convenience of the pilgrimage for all Pakistani pilgrims.
