Barring Sharif, all dignitaries will celebrate Eid in Pakistan

President Mamnoon felicitates nation, says spirit of worship can make the world a heavenly place

ISLAMABAD: The ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif is currently in London where his wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, has recently undergone a surgery and is convalescing. However, the current government dignitaries and heads of political parties are celebrating Eid in Pakistan.

Sources in the PML-N said Sharif was already scheduled to visit London as part of his longstanding practice to celebrate Eidul Azha in London with his sons Hassan and Hussain and the last days of Ramazan and Eidul Fitr in Saudi Arabia.



The sources said Sharif would be able to return home to oversee – in an informal capacity – Kulsoom’s election campaign for NA-120 seat that had fallen vacant after Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court on July 28. A bye-election in this constituency of Lahore is scheduled for September 17.

Unlike Sharif, his successor Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is celebrating Eid in Pakistan. This is his first Eid after becoming PM. Abbasi normally visits his ancestral village Daiwal, located in the hilly resort of Murree, on a day-long trip during Eid days, but he mostly spends his first day in Islamabad.

Reportedly, arrangements have been made at Abbasi’s private residence in Islamabad F-7 sector to host a large number of visitors, mainly from Murree and Abbasi’s political constituency.



Separate arrangements are in place at the PM Office and the PM House where Abbasi would be interacting with government functionaries, party leaders and other officials during Eid.

President Mamnoon Hussain, Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, PTI Chairman Imran Khan and PPP Co-chairpeson Asif Ali Zardari are celebrating the Festival of Sacrifice in Pakistan.

Mamnoon’s message

In a message on the eve of the celebrations, President Mamnoon Hussain felicitated the nation and said the spirit of worship could make this world a heavenly place “because with this training, mankind learns to let go of their ego which is the real root cause of all problems”.



"Be it our national challenges or international crisis – if they are evaluated minutely one finds that ego has been at the core of every issue. Therefore, it is imperative to seek Allah Almighty's blessings by sacrificing our ego to make this world a place of heavenly abode,” he said.

The president said that acting in the spirit of sacrifice “we must look after those brethren who, oppressed by the vicissitudes of life, have lagged behind economically”.

He added: "We should also remember in our prayers all those sons of soil and their families who sacrificed their present for our future. Similarly we should also offer special prayers for our Kashmiri brethren who are valiantly striving to win freedom from the occupying force."