This Article is From Oct 13, 2013

Pakistani man walks 6,387 km to reach Mecca for Hajj

Pakistani man walks 6,387 km to reach Mecca for Hajj

File photo of the Kaaba in Mecca

Jeddah: A Pakistani Muslim, hoping to deliver the message of peace, has walked 6,387 kilometres to reach the holy city of Mecca to perform Hajj.

Kharlzada Kasrat Rai, 37, began his trip from Karachi on June 7, travelling through Iran, Iraq and Jordan on foot. He arrived in Mecca on October 1 to a hero's welcome.

Kasrat Rai was received by Saudi government officials and a representative of the holy Kaaba's imam in addition to members of Mecca's Pakistani community and supporters from various Muslim countries.

The two-time holder of the World Record for Peace Walks told Al Arabiya News that the aim behind his almost three-month journey was to deliver a "message of peace" to the world and to "condemn terrorism at all levels".

"I want peace in the world, equality, and a union of the Muslim Ummah like the European Union," he said.

In 2007, he walked 1,999 kilometres between Khyber and Karachi in Pakistan, a journey he completed in 85 days.

In 2009, he walked 327 kilometres from Lahore to Islamabad in 14 days.

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