In Pakistan yesterday, the Lahore High Court stayed, pending a hearing on May 9, the current process of allocating Hajj quotas to tour operators. The News reports that the lawsuit was filed by competing tour operators because the the Ministry of Religious Affairs was allocating quotas only to Hajj group organizers who had been registered in the past. This leads to high prices that makes Hajj unaffordable to many. Petitioners claimed that the Ministry's current limits violates Hajj Policy 2012 under which both old and new operators should be given an equal chance.
Meanwhile, according to today's Express Tribune, Pakistan's Supreme Court yesterday expressed concern over the slow progress of the Federal Intelligence Agency's investigation of alleged corruption in 2010 Hajj arrangements.
