Top politicians spend Eid shy of the public eye

Army, PAF chiefs visit troops on frontlines

ISLAMABAD:

Eidul Azha was celebrated on Friday across the country and Azad Kashmir with great zeal and fervour to commemorate supreme sacrifice offered by Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) and his son Hazrat Ismail (AS) in fulfillment of the divine order. On the occasion, special prayers were offered for the prosperity of the country and for those who had who died in the Mina stampede.

The main Eid congregation in Islamabad was held at Faisal Masjid where diplomats of various countries, government officials and people from all walks of life offered Eid prayers. However, both Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Mamnoon Hussain were absent from the federal capital on Eid day.

Read: In meeting with Ban, PM makes a pitch for UN Kashmir resolutions

Nawaz, who had travelled to London on September 22 ahead of his trip to New York to attend the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, had offered his Eid prayers at the Islamic Cultural Center in London on September 24.

Mamnoon, meanwhile, offered prayers at the state guest house in Karachi on Friday.

Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif though, offered Eid prayers on Friday with troops on the frontline in Khyber Agency. Commending them for spending their Eid in the line of duty, Gen Raheel asked the soldiers to remember their fallen comrades and their families. He said that the entire nation was standing behind the army in the fight against terrorism.

Read: Pakistan bound to defeat all perpetrators of terrorism: Army chief

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshall Sohail Aman spent Eid at an operational airbase. Later, he visited those who had been injured in the Badhaber attack at CMH Peshawar.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Pervez Khattak, however, had offered his Eid prayers in Manki Sharif, Nowshera on Thursday, September 24. Meanwhile, Eidul Azha congregations were held in various mosques in Peshawar including in Eid Gah where renowned religious scholar Professor Ghafoor Ahmad delivered a sermon.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan spent Eid at his Bani Gala residence in Islamabad with his family.

In Lahore, the main Eid congregation was held at the Badshahi mosque on Friday where a large number of people offered Eid prayer. However, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz offered Eid prayers at Jati Umra in Raiwind.

In Karachi, Eid prayers were offered at more than 2,000 places in the city on Friday. The main congregation held at the Old Polo Ground where Governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan offered prayers.

Read: Playing hide and seek for the hides they seek

However, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah offered his Eid prayers at Garhi Khuda Bux. Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah offered Eid prayers in Sukkur.

In Quetta, more than 300 Eid congregations were held. Chief Minister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch also offered Eid prayers in the city.

Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani offered his Eid prayers in Multan.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2015.