Business

How much will this year’s Hajj cost for Pakistanis?

Published

3 years ago

Farwa

Hajj will approximately cost Rs850,000 this year for Pakistanis.
This year 81,132 Pakistanis will perform Hajj.
In 2019, expenses for the pilgrimage were Rs435,000.

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Religious Affairs Monday sent the Hajj policy to the federal cabinet, according to which, the holy sojourn is expected to cost Rs850,000 for Pakistanis.

This year 81,132 Pakistanis will perform the annual Islamic pilgrimage. Under the government scheme, 32,453 Pakistanis will perform Hajj while 48,679 will perform privately.

In 2019, the expenses for the pilgrimage were Rs435,000. However, the Saudi government has not yet sent an estimate of the expenses to the Pakistani government.

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) meeting took place which discussed the Hajj operation, religious pilgrimage and promotion of domestic and foreign tourism, and increase in the national carrier workforce, which was briefed by Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique.

According to PIA, the Hajj operation will start from May 31 and will be carried out from eight cities including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Multan, Peshawar and Quetta.

Hajj flights will land in Jeddah and Madina.

The PIA’s flight operation will continue from May 31 to August 13 and approximately 297 flights will be carried out. For this purpose, PIA has also taken out one of its Boeing 777 and one Airbus 320 from the long term storage.

Business

E&P Companies Will Invest $5 Billion in Pakistan’s Petroleum Industry

Published

5 hours ago

Farwa

Over the next three years, local and foreign companies involved in Pakistan’s oil and gas exploration and production sector have shown a strong desire to invest more than $5 billion in the nation’s energy sector.

Recent changes to the Petroleum Policy and the implementation of an exclusive tight gas policy, which provide better incentives and a more investor-friendly regulatory framework, are credited with the increase in investor confidence.

These strategic changes are expected to boost domestic energy production, open up new avenues for growth, and draw large amounts of both domestic and foreign investment.

Business

With inflation slowing, the SBP is anticipated to lower the policy rate for the eighth time in a row.

Published

6 hours ago

Farwa

Businesspeople anticipate another reduction in the policy rate when the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) releases the updated rate.

The interest rate for the upcoming two months will be announced by the central bank. It is still unclear if the rate will stay the same or be lowered to reflect stakeholder expectations.

According to experts, the policy rate will be lowered in order to further boost the nation’s economic sector.

Interest rates may be lowered for the seventh time in a row if the inflation rate declines significantly more than anticipated.

In its last six sessions, the MPC had cut the policy rate by 10 percent. In January 2025, it decreased the rate by one percent to 12pc.

12PC POLICY RATE

In January, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced cut in key policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 12 percent from 13pc in line with expectations of the business community.

The policy rate, which had been at 22 percent since June 2024, was slashed by 1,000 basis points to 12 percent.

The SBP governor said the decision was taken with careful consideration. “Although inflation is expected to decline next month (February), core inflation remains a pressing concern,” he stated.

Ahmed highlighted strong remittance inflows and robust export growth as key factors supporting the current account.