The Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs says that the process of transferring Hajj pilgrims from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia has started.

According to the ministry, about 230 Hajj pilgrims left on Wednesday, May 8, on the first flight to Medina.

The acting minister Noor Mohammad Saqib, said at a departure ceremony for the Afghan pilgrims that this year, in order to provide better services to Hajj pilgrims, the employees of the working committees have been sent to Saudi Arabia earlier than in previous years.

At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Abdul Salam Hanafi, said to the pilgrims during the ceremony: “Dear pilgrims, you are the representatives of the Afghan people in Saudi Arabia, so do this representation well.”

Hanafi added that with the efforts of the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs, as in previous years, all Hajj activities this year have been prepared in an orderly manner.

Earlier, the acting minister announced that this year’s quota for Afghan pilgrims will be 30,000.

Ariana Afghan Airlines and Kam Air are the official carriers of pilgrims this year.

Officials from the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) in the southwest of the country say they treated 700 children with heart defects last year and plan to treat another 15,000 children this year.

Marking World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day under the theme this year of “Keeping Humanity Alive”, officials and residents in Kandahar and Balkh provinces appealed to international organizations to continue helping Afghans.

Balkh local officials said support from ARCS had been received in the health, food preparation and cash distribution sectors.

The Afghan Red Crescent Society helps needy families across the country and coordinates and distributes humanitarian aid for other organizations.

Marking this day, IEA’s Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund also called on the people to help needy families.

According to a statement, Akhund asked aid organizations to increase and speed up their assistance in various sectors including health, economic assistance, and reconstruction.

Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, the political deputy prime minister, said Wednesday in a meeting with a number of elders, scholars and youths of the Hazara ethnic group in Kabul that justice in light of Islamic Sharia is applied equally to everyone.

The deputy PM’s office said in a statement that Kabir stressed that discrimination and prejudice have no place in the Islamic system, but the main goal is to serve the people.

“There is no place for ethnic, sectarian and linguistic prejudices and hypocrisy in Afghanistan. All Afghans should work together for the construction, development and prosperity of Afghanistan,” the statement read.

At the gathering, elders and scholars of the Hazara community demanded resolutions regarding their legal cases and other problems and assured the IEA of comprehensive cooperation with the Islamic system, the statement added.