One hundred seventy-nine thousand, and two hundred ten Pakistani pilgrims will perform Hajj in 2025.

This was announced by Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Chaudhry Salik Hussain, while unveiling the Hajj Policy 2025 in Islamabad on Monday.

He said the Hajj quota has been divided with a ratio of 50:50 between the government and private Hajj schemes.

The Minister said 89,605 seats have been reserved each for the government and the private Hajj schemes. He said five thousand seats will be kept for sponsorship scheme under the government Hajj Scheme, while 30,000 seats will be allocated to the private hajj tour operators for sponsorship. He further said it is mandatory to send foreign exchange through the banking channel to participate in the sponsorship scheme.

Chaudhry Salik Hussain clarified that the government sponsorship scheme will operate on a 'first come, first served' basis and will be exempted from balloting. He said the foreign exchange collected through the sponsorship scheme will be used solely for Hajj-related expenses in Saudi Arabia.

The Minister further elaborated that under the Government Hajj Scheme, the traditional long stay will be of 38 to 42 days, and the short stay will be 20 to 25 days. He said each organized private Hajj group must consist of at least 2,000 pilgrims as per Saudi regulations.

Talking about the Hajj expenses, Chaudhry Salik Hussain said the cost for the Government Hajj Scheme for 2025 is expected to range between 1,075,000 to 1,175,000 rupees, while the additional cost for the sacrifice will be 55,000 rupees.

Regarding pilgrims residences, the Minister said applicants opting for double-bed and triple-bed accommodations in Makkah will need to deposit an additional amount of 220,000 and 75,000 rupees respectively.

He said the first installment of Hajj dues, amounting to 200,000 rupees, must be deposited along with the Hajj application under the Government Hajj Scheme, while the second installment of 400,000 rupees must be deposited within ten days of the balloting. He further said the remaining amount must be deposited by February 10 next year.

Chaudhry Salik Hussain said there will be no deduction for refunds if an application is withdrawn before the last date of submission. However, there will be a deduction of 50,000 rupees on refund of the first installment after the balloting. A deduction of 200,000 rupees will be made if the third installment is not deposited.

The Minister said no refund of the remaining amount will be made after February 10 next year. However, in case of the applicant's death, the aforementioned deductions will not be applied.

Answering a question, Chaudhry Salik Hussain said Hajj applications will be received from 18 of this month to the third of the next month, while balloting will be held on sixth of the next month.