Ministry warns public against private Hajj tour operators
By Asim Hussain

ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (APP): The ministry of Religious Affairs, Zakat and Ushr has warned the public against those private Hajj tour operators who are not registered with it.
Only the Hajj Group Organizers (HGOs) registered with the ministry are authorized to book Hujjaj under the Private Hajj Scheme for ensuring security of the funds deposited by intending pilgrims with the registered HGOs, a press statement issued by the inistry said Monday. It says that lists of the registered HGOs are displayed on itswebsite and in the newspapers for the general information.
The money paid by the Hajjaj is kept in secured accounts operated by HGOs under supervision of the Ministry. It also rejects news item appeared in one of the English dailies that two Hajj/Umrah operators located in Blue Area have allegedly committed fraud with the Hajj applicants to the tune ofRs 3.1 million.
None of the operators mentioned in the news-item isregistered/enrolled with the Ministry, it says. Since the introduction of Private Hajj Group Organizers scheme in 2005, not a single case of fraud attributable to the registered Hajj Group Organizers or brought to the notice of the Ministry. It is mainly due to the measures taken by the ministry toprevent the possibility of such frauds. If anyone resorts to Hajj booking with an unauthorized groupOrganizer inspite of the proper warnings issued repeatedly he or she should also be held party responsible for the loss of money.