KABUL - The first flight bringing back pilgrims from Saudi Arabia would land in Kabul on Aug 26 (today), the ministry concerned said on Saturday.
Nasiruddin Dareez, spokesman for the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs (MoHRA), told Pajhwok Afghan News the first flight bringing home pilgrims would reach Kabul on Sunday afternoon.
He said around 30,000 pilgrims would be flown back home via 100 flights to Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat and Kandahar cities. The post-Hajj flight operation would take a month to complete.
Hajj Minister Faiz Mohammad Usmani congratulated President Ashraf Ghani and his CEO on the successful completion of the Hajj ritual.
He thanked all staff of his ministry and hailed their efforts for providing the best services possible to applicants despite challenges.
According to Saudi officials, nearly three million pilgrims from 160 countries performed Hajj this year. They say this year’s Hajj happened without any problem.
The number of manpower providing services to pilgrims exceeded 250,000 workers. The number of violators of Hajj regulations did not exceed 110,000 compared with 1,400,000 in 1433H.
About 29,699 Afghan pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia on 108 flights from airports in the four zones of the country. (Pajhwok)