FIRST ASIAN PILGRIMS ARRIVE IN SAUDI ARABIA

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Jeddah, 3 Dzulqa’dah 1436/18 August 2015 (MINA) – Hajj pilgrims from four countries arrived in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah and Madinah on Sunday, August 16, to perform the life-time journey in the holy lands.

“We have taken certain initiatives, like sending support staff to look after the security, safety and welfare of our country’s pilgrims,” an official from the Malaysian Haj mission in Jeddah said, On Islam quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The Malaysian official was referring to the arrival of the country’s first batch of hajj pilgrims comprised of 450 pilgrims.

More than 22,300 Malaysian pilgrims will attend hajj this year.

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Other groups from Bangladesh, Pakistan and South Africa also arrived in the holy land on the same day.

Pakistan’s Consul General Aftab Khokher welcomed 150 Karachi pilgrims who arrived at Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah.

A total of 143,368 Pakistani pilgrims will perform hajj this year. The operation to transport pilgrims from various cities of Pakistan to the Kingdom will continue through September 17.

Nearly 300 flights carrying pilgrims will depart from Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Multan, Rahimyaar Khan and Sukkur.

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About 71,684 of the arriving pilgrims will perform hajj this year under an arrangement organized by the government.

Around 300 welfare staff, 450 medical team members and 250 government staff will come from Pakistan and 500 welfare staff will be hired locally.

Out of 101,758 Bangladeshi pilgrims who will perform hajj this year, 428 arrived at the hajj terminal in Jeddah, where they were received by Ambassador Golam Moshi and Consul General A. K. M. Shahidul Karim.

“Around 52,000 will be flown in by Biman Airlines, while the rest will be brought by the Saudi Arabian Airlines,” envoy Moshi said.

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Muslims from around the world pour into Makkah every year to perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Hajj consists of several rituals, which are meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family.

Every able-bodied adult Muslim who is financially and physically able must perform hajj at least once in a lifetime.

Hajj is officially expected to fall between September 21 and 26 this year, with the climax falling on September 22 when the faithful descend from Mount `Arafat. (T/P006/RO6)

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Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)