Assistant Private Secretary of Federal Ministry of Religious Affairs Azam Chandio died while dressed in Ihram in Arafat Plain after suffering a heart attack.

He was performing duties along with the director general of Hajj.

The central ritual of Hajj, the Wuquf-e-Arafa was performed in Arafat yesterday (June 27). After performing the Waqf-e-Arafa, pilgrims reached Muzdalifah last night.

The Hajj began on Monday, June 26. After performing the circumambulation of the Kaaba, the worshipers then left for Mina, about 7 kilometers from Makkah. They undertook the journey to the Plain of Arafat on Tuesday.

For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, Hajj has returned to its maximum capacity, with officials saying that 1.8 million pilgrims had already gathered and that the final number could go as high as 2.5 million, according to Aljazeera TV.

Pilgrims will sacrifice their animals after performing Rami al-Jamarat or stoning of the devil.

The Imam of Kaaba, Sheikh Dr Yusuf bin Muhammad, in his Hajj sermon urged all the Muslims to hold fast to the religion and unite among themselves, as two million pilgrims converged on Arafat.

Sheikh Dr Yusuf bin Muhammad delivered the Hajj sermon from the Nimra Mosque in Arafat.