Hajj Operators Association of Pakistan (HOAP) Punjab Chairman Shahid Rafiq has said that Hajj and Religious Affairs Ministry has done injustice to the private hajj operators who have invested billions of rupees in this sector to provide quality services to the pilgrims and pay tax worth millions of rupees to the government. He said, "Last year the number of the pilgrims under the government scheme was 107,000, but the Hajj Ministry could not take care of them fully and properly and at least 20,000 pilgrims could not reach Arafat for lack of transport facility.
This year the number of the pilgrims to perform Hajj under the government scheme is 120,000. It will be injustice to the pilgrims as the government will not be able to make arrangements for all of them whereas private tour operators have gained experience of several decades in this sector and have set record of providing quality services to the pilgrims." Punjab HOAP Chairman Shahid Rafiq has appealed to Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousuf to take notice of the matter and restore 50 per cent quota of the private Hajj operators by revising the ministry's MoU signed with the Saudi government.