AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Allamah Dr. Muhammad Hussain Akbar said Shia pilgrims have certain religious and jurisprudential requirements related to the performance of Hajj and should therefore be allowed to choose, at the time of booking, an authorized Hajj organizer familiar with their religious practices and capable of meeting their practical needs.
He said the final booking process should be completed only after pilgrims and organizers have mutually agreed on the services required and the religious arrangements involved.
“This is not a demand for special treatment or preferential arrangements,” Akbar said, describing the issue instead as one concerning the fundamental right to religious freedom.
According to Akbar, the current system could create difficulties if Shia pilgrims are unable to select an organizer from their own religious background during the initial booking stage. Once bookings are finalized, he said, changes to accommodation arrangements, group organization and religious guidance may become difficult to implement.
He warned that such complications could affect not only individual pilgrims but could also place unnecessary pressure on the ministry’s monitoring and administrative mechanisms.
“Hajj is a sacred journey that may come only once in a person’s lifetime,” Akbar said. “No pilgrim should be required to make arrangements for the performance of religious obligations through a system or organizer they did not have the opportunity to choose.”
The association has urged the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony to conduct an immediate review of the relevant procedures under the Private Hajj Scheme 2027 before the booking process advances further.
It has called for necessary technical and administrative adjustments to ensure that the religious rights, dignity and interests of all Pakistani pilgrims are protected.
Akbar appealed to the ministry to treat the matter not merely as a technical or administrative issue but as one involving the religious rights of pilgrims, and to take prompt and effective action.
He said Pakistan’s Hajj system should ensure that every pilgrim is able to undertake the sacred journey with dignity, confidence and peace of mind, while having their religious beliefs and practical requirements respected.
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