Discrepancies identified in the recruitment of government personnel as Hajj support staff

Government employees who applied to serve as Hajj support staff [Khudam-ul-Hujjaj] for the upcoming Hajj have submitted multiple grievances regarding breaches of meritocracy.

The applicants lodged grievances with the Prime Minister’s Complaint Portal regarding significant anomalies in the NTS examination for Khudam-ul-Hujjaj. The allegations indicate that a merit list was published without administering physical exams, so infringing against the rights of new candidates.

The complainants assert that within minutes of the results being posted on the portal on the evening of December 20, chosen candidates had already received notifications of their selection.

Applications from government personnel for Khudam-ul-Hujjaj were solicited till November 30. The candidates submitted petitions to the Prime Minister’s Complaint Portal and the Federal Ombudsman concerning the purported anomalies in the examination, urging selection based only on merit.

Sources indicate that the physical assessments for successful candidates have been eliminated. A representative for the Ministry of Religious Affairs indicated that annually, 70 percent of applicants are sourced from existing staff, while 30 percent are newly recruited, with quotas allocated to each province based on population size.