Pakistan

PAC decides to end free Hajj facility for VIPs, Khuddam

PAC Chairman Noor Alam Khan terms free Hajj facility "burden" on taxpayers

Ashraf Malkham
November 17, 2022

Muslim pilgrims, keeping social distance and wearing face masks, perform Tawaf during the annual Haj pilgrimage, in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia July 20, 2021. — Reuters/File
Muslim pilgrims, keeping social distance and wearing face masks, perform Tawaf during the annual Haj pilgrimage, in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia July 20, 2021. — Reuters/File


ISLAMABAD: In a major development, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly on Thursday decided to revoke the free Hajj facility for ministers, bureaucrats,Khuddam and VIPS.

Talking to journalists, PAC Chairman Noor Alam Khan vowed that the NA body will end the free Hajj facility for government officers and Khuddam.

Even, the prime minister, ministers and any political figure cannot perform Hajj free of cost, he added.

Meanwhile, the PAC sought details of those who had been performing Hajj without spending a penny of their own within 15 days from the concerned ministry and the Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR).

According to the PAC, the country is under a heavy debt burden. The poor are paying taxes while the government officers are enjoying free Hajj facilities.

The government will recover the amount from the officers whose families performed Hajj for free and the money will then be deposited in the national exchequer, Khan vowed, terming the free Hajj facility a "burden" on the taxpayers.


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