Aneeq Ahmed, the interim minister for religious affairs and interfaith harmony, urged the Saudi government on Monday to increase the Hajj pilgrimage quota in an effort to accommodate Pakistan’s expanding population.
He emphasized the disparity between the existing Hajj quota and the country’s demographic estimates in an exclusive interview with APP. “At the moment, Pakistan’s allotted Hajj quota is 179,210 pilgrims, which is insufficient to adequately represent the country’s population.
Pakistan’s population has increased to 241.49 million, with an annual growth rate of 2.55%, according to the most recent census, he continued.