ISLAMABAD: Since he began his journey earlier this month, Usman Arshad has already walked over a tenth of a 5,400-kilometer route to reach his dream destination, Makkah, in time to participate in next year’s Hajj.
Carrying a small backpack and umbrella, and wearing a pair of trekking shoes, the 25-year-old student’s pilgrimage, which started from his hometown of Okara in Pakistan’s Punjab province, will take him across parts of at least five countries, before he arrives in the holiest city of Islam.
“From Pakistan to Iran, Iran to Iraq, from Iraq to Kuwait, and from Kuwait, I will enter Saudi Arabia,” Arshad told Arab News from Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, from where he will enter neighboring Iran later this week.
“It will take about eight months, which means that I will reach Makkah in May.”
Pakistani student Usman Arshad is pictured in his hometown Okara, Punjab, on October 1, 2022 before embarking on a 5,400 km walk to Makkah on foot. (Photo courtesy: Usman Arshad)
The idea to travel to Makkah by foot came to him last year, when he covered 1,270 km during a 34-day-long walk from Okara to the Khunjerab Pass on the border with China “to promote a peaceful Pakistan.”
“I got the idea for this journey (of Hajj) after completing my last journey and I thought if I can travel on foot this much within Pakistan, then I should also go on foot to the place which is the desire of every human being,” he said. “I made it my dream journey and started working on it.”
It took Arshad nine months to prepare and, with his family’s help, save about $6,800 to cover the trip’s expenses. Support with documents and visas came from the Pakistani government.
“Besides this, they will also support me wherever security is needed,” Arshad said, explaining that he tried to cover up to 45 km a day, and made overnight stopovers at mosques, seminaries, and people’s homes along the way.
Wherever he stopped, he said, he was welcomed and embraced by his hosts who were intrigued to hear about his pilgrimage plan.
Pakistan's Usman Arshad is interacting with people in Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, on his way to Makkah on foot, Oct. 17, 2022. (Photo courtesy: Usman Arshad)
“People’s response has been very good,” Arshad said. “All our people in Pakistan, they are very loving.”
As he walks on, the journey is also changing Arshad and shaping his future plans. He completed his studies in media and communications at the University of Okara but now plans to travel full time.
“Earlier, I wanted to join the media,” he said, “but now I have plans to continue traveling in the future, and tell people about different places and countries by visiting them either on foot or otherwise.”
