AlHijjah 8, 1434, Oct 13, 2013, SPA -- Prince Khalid Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Makkah Region who is also Chairman of Hajj Central Committee, announced that the comprehensive plan to have pilgrims stationed in Mina valley to stay the pre-Arafat night, as per the prophet's historic journey to perform Hajj, was successfully completed. In a press conference here this evening, he said the number of pilgrims coming from outside the Kingdom from different nationalities of the world until today amounted to 1,380,000 while the number of Hajj permissions issued for pilgrims coming from inside Saudi Arabia stood at 117,000. He said more than 70,000 were sent back as violators of Hajj regulations as they were caught trying to infiltrate to the sacred areas. Meanwhile, more than 138,000 vehicles were stopped by the authorities and owners will be punished in addition to 36,000 vehicles also sent back at check points as breaching Hajj permission regulations, he said. As many as 28,000 were classified as not carrying the necessary permits while the number of fake offices trying to help illegal pilgrims challenge the regulations amounted to 85. He thanked God Almighty for making this year's ritual more easier and congratulated the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his Crown Prince for the success of the first step to help pilgrims to ascend to Arafat tomorrow, God willing. --More 22:24 LOCAL TIME 19:24 GMT تغريد
