Maulana Atta-ur-Rehman presided over a Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs meeting on Tuesday. The committee members were given an update on the current Hajj plans by Dr. Zulfiqar Haider, secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

“The ministry plans to distance itself from the government’s direct involvement in Hajj management,” he said. In the future, private operators may take over Hajj arrangements, Dr. Haider said.

The Secretary further warned that private Hajj operators would lose their quotas if they did not drop their cases from the courts.

He underlined the government’s plan to turn over Hajj arrangements to private companies the next year, as long as they adhere to the law.

The Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs, presided over by Maulana Atta-ur-Rehman, held a meeting to review the persistent problems with private Hajj operators and their upfront payments to Saudi Arabia.

Without a formal agreement with the Ministry of Religious Affairs, private Hajj operators may not obtain their Hajj quotas, despite having previously submitted advance payments to Saudi Arabia for Hajj arrangements, the committee was warned. In the absence of formal agreements, the committee said, the upfront payments made to Saudi Arabia might be forfeited.

The committee has instructed private operators to expedite the completion of their contracts with the Ministry of Religious Affairs. It is prohibited to transmit money to Saudi Arabia without a contract, and the commission stressed that if this practice persists, the operators’ quotas will be cancelled.

Concerns were raised by Chairman Maulana Atta-ur-Rehman on the potential harm to the nation’s image if quotas were reinstated. Additionally, he issued a warning that the operators’ quotas might be transferred to nations like Afghanistan or India if they fail to address the problem.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs also stressed that they cannot challenge the Saudi Arabian policies, as they are bound by a formal agreement. He asked private business owners to cooperate with the ministry in order to find a solution to the problem of fewer businesses.

Senator Dr. Afnan Ullah added that if the agreements are not finalized soon, the Hajj quota may be revoked, leading to significant embarrassment for the country. The committee has given private Hajj operators four days to resolve the issue.

The federal cabinet has approved reducing the number of Hajj companies, and due to agreements with Saudi Arabia, the cabinet is not in a position to revise the Hajj policy.