pakistan(National Times)- The deadline for submitting applications for Hajj 2025 in banks is set to expire today (Tuesday) with the Ministry of Religious Affairs saying that all applications received by today will be considered successful on a first-come first-served basis. In a statement, the ministry said that aspirant pilgrims can deposit the second instalment of Hajj dues from December 19 to 27 in the 15 designated banks. As many as 179,210 Pakistanis will perform Hajj under the government scheme next year at a cost of between Rs1,075,000 and Rs1,175,000. Under the government’s Hajj 2025 policy, a pilgrim will have to submit Rs200,000 along with the Hajj application and deposit Rs400,000 after being selected via balloting, whereas, the remaining payments will be paid by February 10, 2025. In case of cancellation, the refund of the first instalment will be made after a deduction of Rs50,000, whereas, Rs200,000 will be deducted in case of failure to pay the third instalment and no refunds will be made after February 10, 2025. Also under the incumbent government’s Hajj policy, the compensation for the heirs of the deceased has been increased from Rs1 million to Rs2 million. Furthermore, as many as 1,000 seats would be allocated for hardship cases and 300 for labourers and low-income employees registered under the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) or Workers Welfare Fund.