Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) held a colourful Christmas celebration on Tuesday which was attended by ambassadors, religious scholars, and politicians.
Ambassadors from China, Sudan, Palestine, Egypt, Japan, Nepal, Korea and Ukraine attended the celebration along with deputy heads of missions from India, Belgium, Spain, Belgium and other friendly states. The event was also attended by several Christian PML-Q supporters along with their children while a choir sang carols and Santa Claus distributed sweets and gifts among the guests.
Addressing the gathering, the PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain conveyed his felicitations to the Christian community on the eve of Christmas. He said the PML-Q was the only party which celebrated religious festivities of all minorities. He said Quaid-e-Azam had underscored the need to remove all sorts of differences among civilians.
“We are all Pakistanis first,” he said. “We are committed to promoting dialogue and interfaith harmony between followers of different faiths.” he added. He said he personally believed the word “minority” should be used sparingly as every citizen was equal before the law. PML-Q General Secretary Mushahid Hussain said no one could be a Muslim without accepting the prophet-hood of Jesus. He said Quaid-e-Azam’s vision was that all citizens would be equal before the law.
He said the PML-Q government had introduced joint electorate in 2002, while reserved seats were also allocated for minorities in all assemblies and the Senate. He said that the incumbent government had increased the reserved seats for minorities which was a major step for their empowerment. “We believe in giving equal rights to minorities, women and youth in all spheres of life. We are also indebted to the minorities for polling record number of votes in the previous elections for the PML-Q and we hope they will vote for us in the upcoming polls again,” he added.
He said the PML-Q would create a progressive and prosperous Pakistan in which people from all faiths would prosper equally. “We will continue to promote, protect and preserve the rights of the people of all minorities,” he maintained.
Choirs sang religious songs during the event while bishops read out verses from the Bible. State Minister for Interfaith Harmony Akram Masih Gill said the PML-Q had reinforced the Quaid’s vision for minorities and his party’s previous government had ensured equal rights for all.
