First Afghan pilgrims depart from Kabul for this year’s Hajj

KABUL: The first batch of Hajj pilgrims from Afghanistan, some 346 men and women, left Kabul Airport for Saudi Arabia on Sunday morning.

An estimated 30,000 Afghans will perform the spiritual journey this year, one of Islam’s five pillars of faith.

The first group departed for Madinah on a plane operated by Kam Air — the largest private Afghan airline — and chartered by the government to serve the pilgrims.

Hajj flights will also be taking off from Balkh, Kandahar, and Herat.

Sayed Ahmad Mustaqim, a religious scholar and one of the pilgrims from the first batch, told Arab News: “We are going to holy cities, where one prayer can be counted as 100,000 in Makkah and 50,000 in Madinah, and we have a lot of hope.

“We are thankful to the Saudi government for giving the chance to perform the Hajj to 30,000 Afghans.”

Many Afghan pilgrims had waited years to be able to embark on the journey from their war-torn country.

Abdul Qadir, a 75-year-old businessman, said he was preparing for the pilgrimage after saving for it for 15 years.

He told Arab News: “My plan for this journey is to pray for myself, for you, for the whole Afghan nation that has suffered a lot.”

Maulvi Abdul Kabir, the acting prime minister of Afghanistan, and other Taliban officials accompanied the pilgrims to the airport, and asked them in a press conference to “pray for the success of Afghan Muslims” and “for the easing of Afghans’ economic problems.”

The Afghan economy, which has already suffered decades of war, has plunged further since the US and several international bodies placed the country under sanctions when the Taliban took control in August 2021.

The Hajj journey costs nearly $4,000 and most Afghans earn less than $200 monthly.

Gulali, a 55-year-old who was traveling with her son, told Arab News: “There are no words to express how happy I am today.

“We finally made it this year. May Allah give this chance to every Muslim.”