u/yahyak

Assalamualaikum guys,

I’m a Canadian/Pakistani dual national and I’ve been looking into doing Hajj through the Pakistan government scheme in the next few years, mainly because the lower cost would probably let me go much earlier in life, InshaAllah.

I was wondering if anyone here has experience with it or knows roughly how much it costs these days? I’ve seen numbers around 1.1–1.3 million PKR for the government packages, but I’m not sure what the real total ends up being with flights and everything else.

Also, how does the process work for overseas nationals? Do you usually fly to Pakistan first and then go to Saudi with the Pakistani Hajj group, or can you coordinate it directly from Canada? I’ve heard different things from different people.

I’m still relatively young, so luxury amenities and 5-star hotels honestly don’t matter much to me. My main goal is just to complete Hajj properly and affordably while I’m younger and healthy enough to handle the tougher conditions.

Would really appreciate hearing people’s experiences, tips, or anything you wish you knew beforehand.

There's been a growing trend on social media of Afghan users claiming the Pakol as originally theirs. I've seen this enough times that I wanted to put together a proper post laying out what the historical record actually says. If anyone has evidence to the contrary, genuinely please share it in the comments. I would request the mods to allow such discussions unlike those at r/Pashtun who mute any opposing views.

So what is the Pakol?

Historical evidence suggests the pakol is a traditional soft, rolled-brim woollen cap that originates from the Gilgit and Chitral areas of northern Pakistan. Its name in Khowar is khapol or kapol, derived from kapaal meaning "head" — a word rooted in the Dardic linguistic tradition of this region. In many Dardic languages including Shina, Torwali, and Gauri, the cap goes by names like khoi, kho, and khah — all variations of the same ancient Dardic word for headwear.

What do the earliest references actually say?

There are multiple 19th century British colonial sources that pre-date any Pashtun or Afghan claim:

John Biddulph (1880) — In Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh, Biddulph documented the "rolled woollen cap" and ascribed it specifically to the Shina people of Gilgit and Astore. Importantly, he noted that in Chitral, Wakhan, and Sarikol, men wore small turbans at that time — meaning the rolled woollen cap was distinctly a Gilgit/Astore thing, not something found further west yet.
Donatus O'Brien (1895) — In The Language of Chitral, O'Brien described the dress of the Kho people as a "homespun cap, black, brown or grey, made in the shape of a bag and rolled up until it fits the skull." This is as clear a description of the pakol as you'll find.
George Scott Robertson (1896) — Documented and described the "Chitrali Cap" separately, and his earlier 1890 accounts reference cross-regional trade in these hats, pointing to Chitral as a production hub even then.
Georg Morgenstierne (1929) — The Norwegian linguist visited Chitral and photographed locals wearing the pakol. His photographs appear to show a style resembling the type still worn in Gilgit today, which some researchers believe may represent the older, more original form of the cap.

Where does the evidence point for origins?

Historical and ethnographic evidence suggests the cap originated in the Gilgit, Astore, and Hunza areas, and spread to Chitral over time — where it eventually evolved into the distinctive flat-crowned style we recognise today. Scholar Vogelsang's analysis suggests the pakol belongs to a wider horizon of similarly shaped headgear worn across the Eurasian borderlands, with its earliest traceable form in northern Pakistan's Dardic heartland.

So how did Pashtuns end up wearing it?

This is actually the most well-documented part of the whole story. Historical records suggest the pakol reached Pashtun areas not through any cultural continuity, but through trade — specifically Chitrali merchants who came to dominate the Qissa Khwani Bazaar in Peshawar and introduced the cap there as a practical, affordable alternative to the large traditional turban. From Peshawar it spread into the broader Pashtun urban population.

Worth noting: as late as 1947, it appears only Swati Pashtuns wore the pakol — and that's likely because upper Swat has historically had Dardic populations. The wider spread among Pashtuns really only accelerated during the Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s, when figures like Ahmad Shah Massoud popularised it — and people wrongly assumed it was an Afghan or Pashtun cap because of that association.

The cap entered Afghanistan even more recently. Evidence suggests it arrived in Nuristan no earlier than the late 19th century, brought there from Chitral. Before the forced conversion of the Kafirs of the Hindu Kush in 1895, there is no documented tradition of pakol-wearing in that region at all — as noted in Robertson's Kafirs of the Hindu Kush.

What WAS the traditional Pashtun headwear?

Worth addressing directly: the historic and traditional headwear of Pashtun men is the lungee — a large wrapped turban, typically in white, black, or with distinctive patterns depending on the tribe and region. The lungee is deeply embedded in Pashtun culture, features prominently in Pashto poetry and proverbs, and is a genuine marker of Pashtun identity. That's their hat. A beautiful one too. The pakol simply isn't part of that tradition historically.

Final thought

The Pakol and Khoi are a big part of Dardic culture and identity, and honestly we have no issue with others wearing it, adopting it, or making it their own — culture has always travelled and evolved. What we do have a problem with is when false claims are made about its origins, erasing the people it actually comes from.

Pakistani Government Hajj from Canada

Supervisa approval timeline for my grandmother