Inadequate Hajj quota angers Nimroz residents

ZARANJ (Pajhwok): Some residents of southwestern Nimroz province have to wait for 20 years for their turn to perform the Hajj ritual due to an inadequate quota, officials said on Saturday.

Hajj and Religious Affairs Director Maulvi Hezbollah Maulvizada told Pajhwok Afghan News the quota for Nimroz was very small compared to the large population of the province.

“Around one million people live in Nimroz, whose Hajj quota is 157. Of them 31 are rejected every year for different reasons, with 126 travelling to Saudi Arabia or Hajj,” he said.

Information from the department shows 1,613 people applied for Hajj this ongoing year. As per the provincial Hajj quota, some manage to offer Hajj and the rest have to wait for years.

The director said the issue had been shared with authorities concerned and all stakeholders involved, but they were told the Central Statistic Organisation (CSO) dealt with the subject.

Maulvizada added the CSO estimated the population of Nimroz at 103,000 based on a 30 years old survey. A fresh census has not been conducted to figure out the existing number of Nimroz residents.

He claimed the population of Zaranj, the provincial capital, had risen to 600,000. If a correct survey was conducted, he asserted, the population of Nimroz could hit the one million mark.

Maulvi Gul Ahmad Ahmadi, a provincial council member, said they had taken up the issue with President Ashraf Ghani during his recent trip to the province.

“The president pledged directing the religious affairs minister to increase the Hajj quota for Nimroz, but no positive action has been taken yet,” he lamented.

Mohammad Nazar, 40, has applied for Hajj this year, but he thinks he will have to wait for years. Life is not trustworthy, according to the man, who is massively interested in visiting the holy land. “I don’t have much money to buy the turn of other people.”

In a clear departure from the quota, some residents of Nimroz purchase the turn of other people to offer Hajj. The price, according to them, is $5,000 to $6,000.

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