Heavy rain pours down on Hajj pilgrims at Arafat
Arafat: Torrential rains poured down on pilgrims on Saturday as they performed their rituals in Arafat during Hajj.
While some rushed for cover, many others ran to the streets to pray. In Islam, Muslims believe that the their prayers have a higher chance of being answered when it rains.
Streets began to flood within minutes of the showers, leaving muddy puddles and cooling those making their spiritual journey to and from Arafat.
Many pilgrims began to help others in need of shelter and offered clothing for those who were drenched in the rain.
The civil defense cautioned pilgrims to stay safe and to avoid low ground prone to flooding and from touching metal objects.
“I feel so happy, I feel as if my Hajj has received more mercy from Allah,” a pilgrim told Arab News in reference to the rain.
Pilgrims in the Arafat area were hit by heavy rain and thunder storms on the second day of Hajj. (AN photo/Huda Bashatah)
Pilgrims in the Arafat area were hit by heavy rain and thunder storms on the second day of Hajj. (AN photo/Huda Bashatah)
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
