Pak to accept Haj applications from April 18-26

Pakistan's Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Muhammad Yousaf on Sunday said the Haj applications will be accepted from April 18 to April 26.

Yousaf said that under the Government Haj Scheme, designated branches of scheduled banks will begin receiving applications on Monday and balloting will be held on April 29, reports dawn.

Announcing that over 1, 43,000 Pakistanis were expected to make the pilgrimage this year, he said that 60 percent of these will perform Haj under the government scheme while the rest would opt for private Haj organizers.

Asserting that Haj package will cost Rs. 2, 61,941 for pilgrims from the 'south region' and Rs. 2,70,941 for pilgrims from the 'north region', Yousaf said that no one would be allowed to perform Haj on the government expenditure.

Last year's pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia witnessed two fatal incidents: a crane accidents and a stampede in which 2,000 people were killed.