Mayor of Islamabad and Chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA), Sheikh Anser Aziz said that Islam teaches us the lesson of harmony, brotherliness and tolerance.

Sheikh Anser Aziz was addressing a ceremony organised by Lok Virsa in connection with Christmas celebrations here on Sunday.

He said that it is an honour for me to lead two those organisations which are living example of interfaith harmony and tolerance.

Christian community has played a pivotal role in the development of Islamabad and their services in this regard are remarkable.

The mayor said that welfare of Christian community of the city is among our top priorities. He said that Christian employees of Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) and CDA are being provided with facilities in the same manner as the Muslim employees.

In this connection, a bonus equal to one basic pay in addition to the advance pay of the month is paid to the non-Muslim employees on their religious festivals.

Furthermore, CDA has also allocated four kanal of land to the Christian community for the construction of church, to make them enable to perform their religious services freely, he added.

He said that Lok Virsa has played a remarkable role in preservation and flourishing the rich culture of the country.

He said that concerned formations have been directed to device comprehensive plan to address genuine issues of the Lok Virsa which could be addressed at the earliest.

On this occasion, the mayor had also cut the Christmas cake. The ceremony was attended by the director of Lok Virsa and a large number of employees.