Hajj flights from Pakistan head to Saudi

Hajj flights from Pakistan started as the first Hajj Flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) departed Pakistan on Monday. PIA flights launched the Hajj schedule from all the major cities of the country including Karachi, Lahore and Quetta, According to PIA spokesman "the first flight took off from Islamabad with 250 pilgrims onboard on Monday morning." Hajj is the largest gathering of people in the world every year, and one of the five pillars of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so at least once in his or her lifetime. The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th of Islamic month Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and last month of the Islamic calendar. Pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who simultaneously converge on Makkah for the week of Hajj, and perform a series of rituals. PIA would be carrying over 70000 out of total 143,000 Pakistani pilgrims who would be performing Hajj this year. The flights would continue carrying Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia until October 9 and the post Hajj flight will start operating from October 19 until November 18 to carry the pilgrims back to Pakistan.