ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will continue accepting Hajj applications for the remaining 1,640 seats under the government scheme on Thursday, the religious affairs ministry said, noting that torrential rains were causing difficulties for people in applying for the Islamic pilgrimage. 

Pakistan’s religion ministry announced earlier this month that it has been allocated a quota of 179,210 pilgrims for this year’s Hajj. Out of these, the ministry said around 118,000 seats have been allocated under the government scheme and the rest to private tour operators.

The religious affairs ministry said on Monday it has received 114,500 applications under the government scheme since Aug. 4 and will continue to accept applications for the remaining ones. In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry said only 1,640 seats remain under the government Hajj scheme.

“It has been decided to continue accepting applications for the vacant seats tomorrow (Thursday), Aug. 21,” the ministry said. “Applicants are facing difficulties due to rains and emergency conditions.”

Heavy rains and floods in several parts of the country have killed over 400 people since Aug. 15. In Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, torrential rains since last week have killed over 400 people. In Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, heavy rains have killed at least 17 people since Aug. 19. 

Pakistan has designated 14 banks to receive Hajj applications. 

“Once all seats are filled, the designated banks will immediately stop accepting Hajj applications,” the ministry clarified. 

Under the government scheme, pilgrims can choose between a long package (38-42 days) and a short package (20-25 days), with costs ranging between Rs1,150,000 and Rs1,250,000 ($4,050–4,236).

Applicants are required to deposit a first installment of Rs500,000 [$1764] or Rs550,000 [$1941] depending on the package, while the remaining dues will be collected in November.

Saudi Arabia had approved the same quota for Pakistan in 2025, though private tour operators last year struggled to utilize their share, saying they faced technical and financial delays, even as the government filled its quota of over 88,000 pilgrims.

KARACHI: All educational institutions in Pakistan’s financial hub Karachi will remain closed on Thursday, the Sindh College Education Department said in a notification, as the city reels from heavy monsoon rains and urban flooding that have killed 17 people this week.

The intense monsoon downpours, which began in Karachi on Tuesday, have killed 17 people according to the Rescue 1122 emergency service. Major arteries of the city were flooded with water, leaving citizens stranded for hours on Tuesday and Wednesday. News outlets reported that several areas of the city remained without power for over 24 hours till Wednesday night.

Private weather forecasting company WeatherWalay said the city experienced “an extraordinary rainfall event” from Aug. 19-20, recording the highest 24-hour precipitation in over four decades when it received between 150-259 millimeters of rainfall across various locations. The development prompted authorities to close businesses and educational institutions on Wednesday.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, meanwhile, said most of the city’s roads, including its major thoroughfares and important underpasses, were cleared for traffic on Wednesday morning.

“All public and private educational institutions within the territorial jurisdiction of Karachi Division under the administrative control of the College Education Department, Government of Sindh shall remain closed on Thursday, 21 August, 2025 due to heavy rains,” the education department’s notification said on Wednesday.

According to details shared by Rescue 1122 about the 17 deaths, six were caused by electrocution while six were killed by structures collapsing. Four drowned due to the intense rains while one person was killed in a fire incident.

Karachi, a city of more than 20 million with dilapidated infrastructure, has often seen even moderate rains trigger flooding in parts of the city, threatening residents’ lives and causing hours-long power outages.

Karachi has faced repeated bouts of urban flooding in recent years. In July-August 2009, the heaviest rains in three decades killed at least 26 people and damaged infrastructure.

Torrential downpours in August 2017 left 23 dead and large parts of the city paralyzed, while heavy rains in 2019 killed 11, mostly from electrocution and collapsing structures.

The following year brought the worst flooding in nearly a century, with record-breaking rainfall in August 2020 killing more than 40 and cutting power to many neighborhoods for days.

In July 2022, intense monsoon showers again submerged parts of the city, killing at least 14 in early July and several more later that month.

Karachi has been lashed with heavy rains at a time when Pakistan is witnessing an intense monsoon season that has already ravaged several areas, particularly in the country’s north, where cloudburst-triggered deluges have killed nearly 400 people since Aug.15.

In total, over 700 Pakistanis have died in this year’s monsoon season, which began on Jun. 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).