Pakistani Pilgrim Starts Walking Makkah To Do Hajj Next Year

Pakistani Pilgrim Starts Walking: He began his travel at the beginning of this month.
Arshad who is 25 years old started his pilgrimage from his hometown of Okara in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
He only has a small backpack and an umbrella with him,
and he plans to go through five countries before he gets to Islam’s holiest city.
“From Pakistan to Iran, from Iran to Iraq, from Iraq to Kuwait,
and from Kuwait into Saudi Arabia I will arrive,” he told Arab News from the Balochistan province in the southwest of Pakistan.

Pakistani Pilgrim: Later this week, Arshad plans to go to Iran, which is close by.
He said, “The trip will take about eight months, so I will arrive in Mecca in May.”
Arshad first thought about walking to the holy city last year, when he walked from Okara to the Khunjerab Pass on the border with China, a distance of 1,270 kilometers, which took him 34 days. He did this “to promote a peaceful Pakistan.”

He went on to say, “I got the idea for this journey (of Hajj) after I finished my last journey. I thought that if I could walk this far in Pakistan, I should also walk to the place that is Desire of everyone .”
I decided to make it my dream travel and began planning it.”

It took Arshad nine months to get ready for the travel and save about $6,800 with the help of his parents.
The Pakistani government helped them with their papers and visas.
“Also, they will help me wherever security is needed,” Arshad said.

Pakistani Pilgrim Starts Walking

He added that he hopes to walk up to 45 kilometers a day, staying the night at mosques, seminaries, and people’s homes.
So far, wherever he has stopped, his hosts have welcomed him and hugged him.
They are interested in his plan to go on a pilgrimage.

Pakistani Pilgrim: “People have been very positive about it,” Arshad said. “The people of Pakistan are all very kind.”
As Arshad walks, the journey changes him and shapes his plans for the future. He finished his studies in media and communications at the University of Okara, but now he wants to travel full-time.
He said, “I used to want to work in the media, but now I plan to keep traveling in the future and tell people about different places and countries by going there on foot or in some other way.”

(Source By Arab News)

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