Haj 2026: Government extends deadline for pilgrims booking through HGOs to January 25
New Delhi: The Union government has granted a final extension till January 25, 2026, for pilgrims booking Haj 2026 through Haj Group Organisers (HGOs) and Private Tour Operators (PTOs) to complete all required formalities.
In a circular issued on January 15, the Ministry of Minority Affairs said the decision was taken after receiving representations from pilgrims and other stakeholders seeking more time to complete booking-related procedures.
Earlier, provisionally selected pilgrims had been asked to finish all prescribed codal formalities, including booking requirements, by January 15, 2026, in line with deadlines set by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The ministry said the extension has been granted keeping in mind the larger interest of pilgrims.
As per the revised advisory, pilgrims must complete the booking process, submit valid passports to the Haj Committee of India or the concerned HGOs, and ensure successful onboarding on the Nusuk Portal within the extended timeline.
The ministry has also cautioned pilgrims to verify the registration status, quota, and approval of the concerned HGO or PTO before making any booking, and to ensure that bookings are made only through authorised operators.
The government has made it clear that this is the final extension and that no further relaxation will be granted beyond January 25, 2026, under any circumstances.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
