Aamna Aamna 
The Ministry of Religious Affairs in Pakistan has opened the registration for the government Hajj Programme 2025 with 5,000 additional seats. This decision was made after the first call for applications attracted only 81,500 applications – far below the total allocation. Unlike before, however, the new applications will be acted upon on a first come first served basis and there will not be any ballot.
The Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Chaudhry Salik Hussain today presided over an important meeting of the Ministry mainly discussing private hajj schemes. The meeting was organized to work out the specific requirements for group bookings of private pilgrims, discussed with the HOAP Chairman Nasir Khan and Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, and took place on January 7; the group booking will start from January 10.
Key Updates for Hajj 2025:
- An additional 5,000 slots opened under the government Hajj scheme
- New applications are to begin next week without a ballot system
- First-come-first-served basis for application processing
- Five-day window is set for new applications
- Private pilgrim group bookings are to commence on January 10
- Mandatory compliance with Saudi and Pakistani regulations
- The previous deadline extended three times with 82,000 applications received
- Ministry strategizing to fill remaining 7,000 quota slots
- All current applicants declared successful
- A new process designed for swift and transparent allocation
