Pakistani Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Mohammed Yusuf and Haj Minister Bandar Hajjar signed the Haj 2014 agreement on Wednesday in Jeddah.

Briefing the media after signing the agreement, Yusuf said both sides were in agreement on all the points that were covered during the meeting. “Pakistan has excellent bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia and it has been the endeavor of both the countries to further strengthen the relationship,” he said.

Stating that two aspects that were included in the Haj policy for 2014 were also discussed, the visiting minister said he brought to Hajjar’s attention that this year, Pakistani pilgrims under the government scheme will fall only under one category as many Pakistani pilgrims can’t afford the high price of Haj.

“We also requested the Saudi Haj minister to allot 35 pilgrims per tour operator against the existing 50 due to the reduction in Haj quota as also to allow options for choosing the food system,” he said, adding that Hajjar assured that the requests would be considered and Pakistan would be informed of its decision by April 1.

He said that when the Haj policy was being formulated, it was decided that 50 percent of Pakistani pilgrims will come through Madinah and another 50 percent through Jeddah. “Those who arrive in Jeddah will exit from Madinah airport and those who come via Madinah will return from Jeddah,” he said.

“We will also try to arrange the accommodation for all the pilgrims as close to the Haram as possible,” Yusuf said, adding: “We want to provide uniform facilities for all the pilgrims. Besides, we also want to educate the pilgrims about the rituals and Haj policy, for which we have had advisory meetings in Lahore and Karachi to work toward this.”

Stating that they were working toward improving facilities at pilgrims’ camps in Pakistan, he said they will also keep a tab on flight schedules during Haj to ensure there are no delays.

He said that if any pilgrim was keen on having special privileges, they can come through private tour operators since the government Haj scheme is to serve the pilgrims and not to earn profits.

The Pakistani minister said Hajjar had informed him that the 20 present cut in quota for Haj pilgrims will continue in 2014 for all countries. The Saudi Ministry will also introduce an electronic system pertaining to accommodation, food and transportation besides health facilities for pilgrims.

Yusuf said that Sikandar Ismail, secretary, and Shahzad Ahmed, joint secretary, also had a detailed meeting with Hatim Qadi, deputy minister of Haj for Haj Affairs. The two also had a meeting with South Asian Company for pilgrims and signed an agreement with them relating to facilities for Haj pilgrims in 2014.