"Commencement of the Remaining Hajj Expenses Disbursement Program for Pilgrims of the year (1444 AH / 1402 SH)
On the 27th of Safar al-Muzaffar 1445 AH (21st of September, 2023), the process of disbursing the remaining funds from the expenses of the pilgrims officially commenced in a gathering at the Government Media Center, in the presence of Sheikh al-Hadith Dr. Maulavi Noor Muhammad Saqib, the Minister of MOHIA, along with the central authorities of the ministry and a number of honorable pilgrims.
After the recitation of selected verses from the Holly Quran, Sheikh al-Hadith Dr. Noor Muhammad Saqib stated during the opening of this program:
"Although we made efforts to reduce this year's Hajj expenses, it is still comparatively lower than the previous year when the amount per pilgrim was $4,130. However, this year it is $3,924.40. It is also significantly lower compared to the expenses of neighboring countries."
He added: "In this year's Hajj, an amount of $3,816.37 has been spent per pilgrim, and after precise calculations by the Ministry of MOHIA, an amount of $108.04 in decimal currency will be refunded per pilgrim."
Mr. Saqib further explained that since the collection of the pilgrims' money was in dollars, the refund would also be in dollars. However, since refunding in decimal currency is somewhat challenging, it will be translated into 4 Afghanis. This means that each pilgrim will be refunded $108.04 and 4 Afghanis.
The Minister of MOHIA stated: "Due to the following reasons, the expenses have slightly increased:
.1 Last year, the price of one bed in Makkah was 1,200 Saudi Riyals (SAR), but this year its price has increased to 2,400 SAR, which is twice as much as last year.
.2 In Medina Munawwarah, this year the Ministry of MOHIA, contrary to previous years, provided the honorable pilgrims with a three-time meal program in addition to accommodation.
.3 Last year, the cost of air transportation for the honorable pilgrims from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia was $1,050 per ticket, but this year the ticket price increased to $1,180, which means an increase of $130 per ticket.
. 4 The Saudi Arabian government also added 59.8 halalas ($0.598) per person under the name of the Electronic Wages Service.
The gathering concluded with a prayer by Sheikh Azizur Rahman Mansoor Deputy Minister of MOHIA.
Towards the end of the program, the distribution of the remaining Hajj expenses to several pilgrims from Kabul province officially began. This program is scheduled to commence from tomorrow, Thursday, on the 28th day of Safar al-Muzaffar 1445 AH (22nd of September, 2023), in the central and 34 provincial centers."
