High-level panel to look into Haj subsidy issue: Naqvi

The government has formed a high-level panel to look into the Haj subsidy issue in light of a 2012 Supreme Court order on gradually reducing and abolishing subsidy given to pilgrims by 2022, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said here on Friday.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event, the Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) said the panel, inter alia, is expected to figure out if the pilgrims can travel to Saudi Arabia paying less or equally if there is no subsidy.

“Questions and issues about Haj subsidy have been raised from time to time. We have formed a high-level committee to study in detail different aspects related to the subsidy,” Naqvi said.