MAKKAH — Emir of Makkah, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, adviser to the king and the chairman of the Central Haj Committee (CHC), has said there are still more than 453,000 pilgrims remaining in Makkah and Madinah. He told a meeting of the committee on Tuesday that more than 1.4 million pilgrims who came for outside have left for their respective homes. The meeting, which was also attended by Deputy Emir Prince Badr Bin Sultan, discussed the early preparations for the next Haj season. Prince Khaled expressed thanks and gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman and Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud, who is also chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee, for their standing instructions to deploy all human and material resources for the comfort and convenience of the pilgrims. He also appreciated the efforts of all government and private bodies concerned with the Haj services for their concerted efforts aimed at enabling the pilgrims perform their Haj rites in ease, peace and comfort. During the meeting, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal received a report from the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) containing detailed statistics about the number of domestic and foreign pilgrims. Th report was presented by the authority's chairman Fahd Al-Tikhaifi. The Haj will officially be declared over on Muharram 15 corresponding to Sept. 8
