First Flight of Haj Pilgrims Arrived in Jeddah on Monday

The  began with the first of Dhul Qadah in the Kigdom on Monday, and the first group of Haj pilgrims from Pakistan landed at King Abdul Aziz Airport in Jeddah.

The first group were received by Abdul Hakeem Al-Tamimi, chairman of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), Sajid Yousafani, director general of the Pakistan Haj Mission; Asif Memon, deputy consul general; and Ashraf Lanja, joint secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs and other Saudi officials were present at the airport to honor the guests.

Nearly 1,954 Pakistani pilgrims will arrive in Madinah under the government Haj scheme on board 8 flights on Tuesday

The first Indian flights with Hajj pilgrims will begin from August. It is estimated that a total of 170,000 Indian pilgrims will perform Haj this year, and these include 45,000 who will come through private tour operators. Pilgrims will return during the period from Sept. 6 to Oct. 6.

The pilgrims from Pakistan, India, Malaysia and Afghanistan were also received warm welcome from the Saudi officials.