Ministry of Religious Affairs will start refunding Government Scheme hajj dues from Thursday.

The Spokesman of the ministry said the funds would be refunded through the branches of designated scheduled banks.

The Spokesman said all successful hajj applicants of Government Scheme are being informed about the repayment of their amount by sending messages to the mobile phone of each pilgrim.

The Ministry has decided to refund Government Hajj Scheme dues, following the Saudi government’s decision to exclude pilgrims outside of the kingdom from performing hajj this year due to coronavirus pandemic.

It may be recalled that on June 23, Saudi Arabia’s Minister for Hajj and Umrah Dr. Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten had telephoned his Pakistani counterpart Pir Dr. Noorul Haq Qadri and formally conveyed the kingdom’s decision of holding Hajj with very limited pilgrims this year.