Afghanistan Completes Transfer of Hajj Pilgrims to Saudi Arabia

The Taliban’s Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation has announced that the transfer of this year’s Hajj pilgrims from the northern and southwestern provinces of Afghanistan has been completed. The process will be officially finalized with the last flight departing from Kabul International Airport.

According to the ministry’s newsletter, the final flight from the northern zone carried 343 individuals, and the southwestern zone carried 260 individuals to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. These flights are part of Afghanistan’s allocated quota for Hajj this year.

Additionally, nearly 8,000 pilgrims have departed from Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport in Kandahar, around 5,000 from Khwaja Abdullah Ansari International Airport in Herat, and about 6,000 from Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi International Airport in Balkh, all bound for the holy cities of Medina and Jeddah.

The ministry further stated that the last Hajj flight from Kabul will take place on Wednesday this week. Upon its completion, the transfer of all 30,000 pilgrims allocated to Afghanistan’s Hajj quota will be concluded.

Every year, many citizens of Afghanistan wish to participate in the Hajj pilgrimage, but due to quota limitations, the selection process is carried out through a lottery system. This method is expected to be conducted with transparency and strict management to ensure the rights of applicants are fairly upheld.