Local media in Pakistan had reported that millions of Saudi Riyals intended for Hajj expenses were mistakenly sent to an account linked to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) instead of the Saudi Hajj ministry.
“Recent claims in some Pakistani media outlets about ‘Hajj funds being sent to the wrong Saudi account’ are baseless and stem from a misunderstanding of the Hajj account management system and the ministry’s official electronic Hajj platform, which ensures the highest standards of transparency and accuracy,” the Saudi official said.
The Saudi official explained that arrangements for this year’s Hajj were announced at the end of the previous season, with strict timelines for finalising contracts and services. He said Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs completed all official pilgrim contracts successfully, while several private companies failed to meet deadlines.
“This has been observed in past seasons as well and resulted in the inability to complete entry procedures for these pilgrims to perform Hajj in the Kingdom,” the official said. Saudi authorities said they remained in “high-level coordination” with Pakistan to ensure the completion of Hajj arrangements.
This year’s pilgrimage is set for June, with nearly 89,000 Pakistanis travelling under the government scheme and 23,620 through private operators. Pakistan was granted a total quota of 179,210, which could not be fully utilised.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a committee to investigate why the full quota was not met, particularly among private tour operators. Pakistan launched its Hajj flight operation on Tuesday, with the first batch of 442 pilgrims departing from Islamabad to Madinah.