Christian community assured of equality

Caretaker CM denounces Jaranwala incident

LAHORE:

The Christian community celebrated Christmas with religious devotion and respect across the province on Monday.

Prayers were offered for national security, development, prosperity and, especially, for the oppressed Palestinians during the Christmas sermons.

Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, along with the Punjab cabinet members, attended the prayer ceremony at the Sacred Heart Cathedral Church on Lawrence Road in the provincial capital.

The chief minister and his cabinet members cut the Christmas cake with the Christian community. The Archbishop of Lahore, Sebastian Francis Shaw, presented flowers to Mohsin Naqvi.

The chief minister, while felicitating the Christians on Christmas, said that he shared the joys of the Christian community on the occasion of Christmas.

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He condemned the Jaranwala incident, saying that his government would not breathe a sigh of relief until the last person responsible for the incident got punished.

The chief minister recalled that the churches and the houses that had been damaged during the Jaranwala incident were immediately restored. Financial assistance was given to the owners of the houses which had been burnt.

Centres were established across Punjab to prevent incidents like Jaranwala from happening ever again.

He recalled that for the first time in history, a special meeting of the Punjab cabinet had been held at the Jaranwala church to express solidarity with the Christian community.

That meeting had approved the compensation for the damages in Jaranwala and a future action plan.

Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that in the aftermath of the Jaranwala incident, Muslims had opened the doors of the mosques for their Christian brothers and sisters to worship there.

“A message was conveyed to Christian brothers and sisters that our mosques are open for you. Come and worship here,” said the chief minister.

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The gesture had been appreciated by national and international media, he said.

The chief minister said that Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) has also taught Muslims to be kind towards the minority communities.

“Islam teaches that minority communities should be treated equally. Muslims, Christians and other minorities are all together. We are all Pakistanis, and we are all equal,” said the chief minister. The Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had also laid emphasis on protecting the rights of the minorities.

Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi reminded his audience that the white colour in the Pakistani flag represented the minorities.

He said that the Christian community had rendered invaluable services in the field of education. Many of the best educational institutes were run by the Christian community.

“We are proud of the Sacred Heart Convent and other Christian community educational institutions,” Naqvi said. The chief minister said that his government had been ensuring implementation of the quota for the minorities vis-a-vis jobs and admissions.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2023.