KABUL (SW): The first flight for this year’s holy Hajj took-off from Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday.
Some 24, 000 Afghan Hajjis are likely to perform the holy obligation this year. A rather shorter number of pilgrims due to the ongoing development work at the holy sites in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
President Mohamamd Ashraf Ghani has tasked the concerned authorities to ensure best possible services to the Afghan pilgrims for their travel and stay in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). A communiqué said on Thursday that the President directed the Hajj Commission and the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs (MoHRA) to take special measures in this regard.
It added government efforts have reduced the air fare and has improved the boarding and lodging services in the KSA. Afghanistan’s Ariana Afghan Airlines (AAA) has been awarded the contract to transport the pilgrims.
All in all, 24250 pilgrims are scheduled to depart for the holy Hajj in the next four weeks. Apart from Kabul, direct flights have also been scheduled from Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat cities.
ENDS
