Organized dispatch to Atabat accelerates

As reported by Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Information Base, , the meeting of Planning and Coordination Council of Supreme Leader Delegation Office and the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization was held under the chairmanship of Supreme Leader's representative in Hajj and Pilgrimage affairs and Supervisor of Iranian pilgrims Hojjat al-Islam Seyed Abdolfattah Navvab.

Director General of the Office for Planning, Receiving and Sending Pilgrims to Atabat-e-Aliyat in the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Mr. Hamid Mohammadi, by presenting statistics at this meeting, referred to the pilgrims welcome of pilgrimage trips to the Atabat-e-Aliyat and said: the number of pilgrims who have been sent to Atabat-e-Aliyat in Iraq in the form of pilgrimage caravans since 23th Aban is close to 13,000.

During this period, pilgrims from 18 provinces have been organized and sent to Iraq from seven flight stations of Tehran, Kerman, Yazd, Mashhad, Sari, Tabriz and Isfahan, and from 12^th Bahman, the Shiraz flight station will be activated, he said.

He pointed out that more than 30 companies in 18 provinces provide services to Atabat-e-Aliyat pilgrims, adding: "In some provinces, such as Khuzestan, pilgrims are waiting for the resumption of land trips to Iraq."

Director general of the Hajj Organization's Office for Planning, Receiving and Sending Pilgrims to the Atabat-e-Aliyat also mentioned the dispatch of eight groups of 24 people to Damascus last month and announced the price reduction of packages for the pilgrimage trip.

In the new system of Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, the cost of three and four night travel packages to Syria has been informed for pilgrims in details, he added.

In the continuation of this meeting, head of Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, Mr. Ali Reza Rashidian, referred to the measures taken to set up fifty-person caravans to Damascus and said: week-long trip to the shrine of Hazrat Zainab (PBUH) and the shrine of Hazrat Roghayeh (PBUH) is also on the agenda.

According to this report, Supreme Leader’s representative in Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs also stressed the need for accuracy and intelligence in planning the pilgrimage trip to Syria and holy shrines and said: Informing about this spiritual journey along with providing desirable services to the pilgrims, will make the pilgrims of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUH) shrine more enthusiast.

During the meeting, the latest news and developments in the field of Hajj and Umrah were reviewed and it was announced that the official sources of Saudi Arabia government and hajj ministry have not yet published instructions and news on whether or not to hold the upcoming Hajj. Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, like other Islamic countries, hopes to receive an invitation to discuss the upcoming Hajj with Saudi officials.

Director General of Planning, Program, Information Technology and Cyberspace Security Office of Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Mr. Mehran Farshid reported on the features of comprehensive pilgrimage system, which is designed based on the new processes of this organization and is being completed.

Hojjat al-Islam Navvab also expressed hope that with the full use of this system, planning to send caravans and receiving information on pilgrimage trips for pilgrims will be facilitated as much as possible.

According to this report, Supreme Leader’s representative in Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs also referred to the issues raised at the meeting of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUH) Maddah with Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution and called for a review of Maddah and Clerics’ duties who are to be sent to Atabat.

Hojjat al-Islam Navvab clarified the words of Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution on the subject of “explanation jihad“ and said: today, that the enemies have targeted the Islam, system and the revolution, we must all take a firm step in the direction of defending the pure blood of the martyrs and the lofty goals of the Imam of Nation (RA) and Supreme Leader.