This year's enforcement of the “No permit, no Haj” law has decreased the number of illegal local pilgrims by 60 percent. Nearly 480,000 illegal local pilgrims, mostly foreigners, were able to sneak through the roads leading to Makkah to perform Haj this year, officials said. According to the latest statistics from the General Statistics Authority in the Kingdom, 2,408,849 pilgrims, including 1,729,841 from abroad, performed Haj this year. About 200,000 pilgrims are believed to be from the city of Makkah. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah, has confirmed the success of this year's Haj with the end of the first day of the stoning ritual in Mina Monday. He attributed the success to the new projects of the Jamarat Bridge and road network inside the holy sites.
