ISLAMABAD: Designated Pakistani banks will remain open on Saturday and Sunday to receive Hajj 2025 applications, state-owned media said on Thursday, as thousands apply for the annual Islamic pilgrimage. 

Pakistani state media said this week that over 24,000 Hajj applications by Pakistani pilgrims have been received by designated banks. 

Saudi Arabia has allotted Pakistan a total quota of 179,210 pilgrims for the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage, to be divided equally between the government and private schemes. Around 15 designated Pakistani banks started receiving applications for Hajj 2025 from intending pilgrims on Monday this week.

“Designated banks will remain open to receive Hajj applications on Saturday and Sunday,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. 

It said that the banks will remain open from 09:00 am to 02:30pm on Saturday and Sunday to receive the Hajj applications. 

The deadline to file Hajj applications is Dec. 3 while the draw for the government scheme will be held on Dec. 6.

The religious affairs ministry announced the country’s Hajj 2025 policy earlier this month, according to which pilgrims can pay fees for the annual pilgrimage in installments for the first time.

Under the government scheme, the first installment of Hajj dues, amounting to Rs200,000 ($717), has to be deposited along with the Hajj application, while a second installment of Rs400,000 ($1,435) must be deposited within ten days of the balloting. The remaining amount has to be deposited by Feb. 10 next year.

On Sunday, Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry said it had launched the “Pak Hajj 2025” mobile application to guide and facilitate pilgrims. The app is available for both Android and iPhone users.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national security is directly linked to its economic security, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday, stressing the need for united efforts to ensure the country prospers as it grapples with surging militancy and economic challenges. 

Pakistan has suffered from a macroeconomic crisis that has seen its foreign exchange reserves fall to historic lows and its currency weaken significantly over the past two years. The South Asian country narrowly avoided a sovereign default last year after it clinched a last-gasp $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

Islamabad’s economic crisis has compounded its problems as it deals with a surge in militancy in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan. The country has been struggling to contain attacks in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces from separatist and religiously motivated banned groups. 

“I am very convinced that our national security has direct linkage with economic security, and both go hand-in-hand,” Sharif said.

Sharif said Pakistan had suffered economic losses of $130 billion due to the so-called War on Terror, adding that the country only received “a fraction of these losses” from allies. The rest Islamabad had to bear from its coffers, he said. 

“This monster has come back and is showing its ugly face again,” the prime minister said. “And as I speak, on a daily basis, there is a sad incident in the south of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in Balochistan, anti-Pakistan nefarious elements are driving this nefarious scheme over there through active support of Pakistan’s enemies.”

Sharif reiterated his desire to introduce a “Charter of Economy,” calling for political consensus on key economic reforms. 

“Today, as prime minister, I once again reaffirm my resolve for the Charter of Economy,” he said. 

In response to a question, Sharif said he agreed the government should not be in business. Rather, he said it should facilitate it. 

“I believe Pakistan’s governments, whether it be in the center or provinces, it is not our business to do business,” the premier said. 

“We should completely end this and hand it over to the private sector in transparent manner.”