Thousands of Pakistani Pilgrims May Miss Hajj Due to Technical Glitch

Nearly 67,000 Pakistani pilgrims may lose their chance to perform Hajj this year because of system errors that caused significant delays in the application process. The issue stems from technical difficulties with the Saudi online Hajj platform, Nusuk, which closed earlier than expected—leaving thousands of visa applications pending and unprocessed.

The Hajj Organisers Association of Pakistan (HOAP) held a press conference at the Karachi Press Club to bring this issue to light. Muhammad Saeed, the media coordinator of HOAP, has called on the Pakistani government to step in and negotiate with Saudi authorities for an urgent solution. He urged the President, Prime Minister, and Army Chief to intervene immediately and request a 72-hour extension for the system to reopen. This extension could help thousands of pilgrims complete their visa process and avoid missing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

One of the main concerns is that the Saudi portal was closed a full month earlier than the previous year. This unexpected change caught many private tour operators off-guard, especially since Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs only granted final approvals for private Hajj packages by mid-March—after the Saudi deadline had already passed on February 21.

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Pakistan has a total Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims, equally divided between the public and private sectors. Out of this, only 23,000 applications have been confirmed. That leaves a huge number—67,000—still pending. Shockingly, 13,000 of those were completely removed from the system.

HOAP officials stressed that in previous years, Saudi Arabia had been flexible with deadlines. However, this year there has been no such leniency, which has intensified the crisis. Chairman Zaeem Akhtar Siddiqui pointed out that while the public sector began accepting applications back in November 2024, the private sector only received full permissions to process applications much later—leaving little time to meet the early deadline.

The pilgrims who are still in limbo are anxiously waiting for a resolution. Without swift government action, tens of thousands of devout Muslims may miss the sacred journey they’ve been preparing for months—some for years.