Makkah Hajj Ministry branch issues statement on Hajj
The plan of transporting pilgrims in groups (tafweej) to perform their rituals in Hajj sites and moving them to another ritual site went smoothly as scheduled during this year's Hajj, a senior Hajj Ministry official said today.
With 66,906 pilgrims leaving the Holy City of Makkah by yesterday aboard 52 buses out of which 36 headed towards Madinah, home of Prophet Mohammed's Mosque, and 16 buses towards Jeddah, phase two of the plan to send pilgrims to Makkah and the Holy Sacred Places in the vicinity went as smoothly as scheduled, Adel bin Obeid Balkhair, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Hajj for Umrah Performers Affairs who is in charge of the Ministry's branch in Makkah, reported.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Balkhair said the second part of the plan is to help send pilgrims to Al-Madinah to visit the Prophet and pray in his Mosque and send those who have finished this ritual before Hajj to their exit destinations, by land (to border posts), by sea (to Jeddah Islamic Port) or by air (to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah).
He attributed this unprecedented success to instructions of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, follow-up of Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Interior who is also Chairman of Hajj Supreme Committee, and executive follow-up of Dr. F0uad bin Abdulsalam al-Farsy, Minister of Hajj, and cooperation of Hajj governmental and non-governmental organizations and bodies.