Eidul Azha will be celebrated across Pakistan, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan today (Wednesday) with religious devotion and enthusiasm, however, people in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas celebrated Eid on Tuesday. Hundreds of thousands of believers will throng mosques and open grounds to offer mass prayers across the country, following which animals will be sacrificed in accordance with the Sunnat-e-Ibrahimi.
Special prayers will be offered for the liberation of all occupied Muslim territories, including Indian-held Kashmir and Palestine. Prayers will also be offered for peace, progress and prosperity of Pakistan as well as the welfare and affluence of the nation.
Religious scholars from various schools of thought will deliver special sermons and lectures to highlight the significance of the day, and call upon Muslims to follow the teachings of Islam in letter and spirit. Strict security arrangements have been made across the country for the celebrations. Law enforcement agencies have beefed up security at public places, mosques, eidgahs and important buildings to thwart any untoward incident. Policemen in plain clothes as well as in uniform will perform duties at Eid congregations for the security of the faithful. Four days of official Eidul Azha holidays, from October 15 to 18, followed by two weekly holidays will provide people ample time to celebrate the festival with their relatives and dear ones.
KP, FATA: On Tuesday, Afghan refugees along with others living in several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including parts of Peshawar, celebrated Eidul Azha on Tuesday. The Afghan refugees offered Eid prayers at five open places in the city and offered special prayers for the security and safety of the country. Eid prayers were also offered in Abbottabad, Mardan, Bannu and other districts of KP besides Mohmand Agency, Khyber Agency and other tribal areas.
HAJ COMPLETES: Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of Muslims converged on Mina valley to join a symbolic stoning of the devil, the final stage of the annual Haj pilgrimage. The occasion coincides with the first day of Eidul Azha, the feast of sacrifice celebrated by Muslims around the world. Although the numbers this year are down to less than half the 3.2 million who attended last year’s haj, the crowds of faithful managed to transform the Mina valley, just outside Makkah, into a vast sea of white as they flocked from all directions towards the place of stoning. An endless torrent of pilgrims, dressed in the ihram, a two-piece seamless white garment, cried “Allahu Akbar” (God is the greatest) as they hurled pebbles they had collected overnight at nearby Muzdalifah at concrete pillars representing the devil. After pausing to say prayers, they then moved along the massive concrete structure constructed by Saudi authorities to avoid deadly incidents.
Hundreds of police guarding the multi-storey building struggled at times to keep the crowd under control but those performing the ritual reported a less chaotic experience than in past years. “The crowd this year was smaller and as a result the movement was smoother,” said Shiraz Khorshid from Pakistan. “My experience was very nice and arrangements were excellent at all facilities,” said Khorshid, a 35-year-old lecturer at a training institute in eastern Saudi Arabia.