First Hajj flight departs from Kabul

The Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs (MoHRA) said that the first flight carrying 346 pilgrims left Kabul for Saudi Arabia on Saturday where the group will take part in the holy ritual.

A number of senior Islamic Emirate leaders including Prime Minister, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir; Abdul Salam Hanafi, Deputy Prime Minister; and the Minister of Hajj and Religious Affairs were at the airport for the event. 

The ministry said the process of seeing off Afghan pilgrims to perform Hajj had started from the capital and the process will soon start from other zones. According to the ministry, government officials and employees of the Ministry of Hajj were part of the first group who left for Saudi Arabia.

The ministry said that Kabir asked the Afghan pilgrims to offer prayers for peace, prosperity and sustainability of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation meanwhile has said that it will transport about 30,000 Afghan pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year to perform Hajj.

“Around 30,000 pilgrims from Afghanistan will visit Saudi Arabia to attend the Hajj ceremony this year,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry has said the cost for each pilgrim was 340,000 AFN (about $4,000).

The contract for transportation of Hajj pilgrims had been signed between MoHRA and Kam Air Company earlier.