ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has directed the government to approve a Hajj policy for the year 2017 within seven days on a petition moved by tour operators.
A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Mushir Alam, noted that a new policy had been submitted to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, but it was still awaiting approval.
“No decision can be made till the policy is submitted before us,” the court observed, adding that if the government failed to approve the policy in due time, the court might take it upon itself to grant the approval.
The bench also ordered that a draft of the policy be submitted to the court’s registrar.
During the hearing, Deputy Attorney General Sohail Mehmood told the court that a summary of the new policy was available with the prime minister.
“The Ministry of Religious Affairs does not prepare policies every year in accordance with the decisions of the Supreme Court,” the lawyer representing the tour operators told the court.
Justice Qazi Faiz Esa, a member of the bench, observed that the government seemed to purposefully want to finalise the policy at the last moment. “Why is the Hajj policy being hidden,” the judged asked. “Does the prime minister do everything in this country? What does the government do?” he asked.
