Indian Shia pilgrims arrive in Holy Karbala after five-month-on-foot journey

Indian pilgrims Syed Ali Shahbaz and Syed Akbar Khan arrived in the holy city of Karbala, after a five-month-on-foot journey, covering a distance of 6,000 kilometres.

Shahbaz said, “For 20 years, we have been thinking about taking a walking journey from India to Mecca, passing through Iran and Iraq to visit the holy shrines.”

He added, “We have covered 6,000 kilometers since we set off from Bihar state in India, until we reached Iraq and completed our visit to the shrines of the infallible Imams, peace be upon them, in Baghdad, Holy Najaf, Holy Karbala, and Holy Samarra. The journey took about five and a half months.”

He continued, “We will complete our journey to Mecca at the end of this December, to perform the Umrah rituals and try to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, and pray that peace will prevail in all Muslim countries,” noting that “their journey included many risks, but their desire to continue the journey towards the holy city of Karbala was greater than that.”

He explained that “the goal of this is to give a true picture of the Islamic religion and the doctrine of the Ahlulbayt, peace be upon them, and to send messages of love and peace to the whole world.”