Eid-ul-Azha was celebrated on Saturday across the country and Azad Kashmir with great zeal and fervour in commemoration of the supreme sacrifice offered by Hazrat Ibrahim and his son Hazrat Ismail in fulfillment of the divine order.
Special prayers were offered for the prosperity of the country and for unity among the Muslim Ummah. The faithful offered sacrifices of animals in accordance with the Sunnat-e-Ibrahimi. The main Eid congregation in the federal capital was held at the Faisal Mosque. President Asif Ali Zardari offered Eid prayers at the mosque of Aiwan-e-Sadr. Besides the staff of Aiwan-e-Sadr, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and high ranking officials also offered Eid prayers with the President. Later, the President exchanged Eid greetings with those who offered prayers with him. Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt called on President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr and exchanged Eid greetings with him. Diplomats of different countries based in Islamabad also visited the President House to exchange Eid greetings with President Zardari. A large number of people from different walks of life, including political workers, visited the Aiwan-e-Sadr to greet the President.
Apart from enjoying the festivities of Eid and visiting relatives and friends, a large number of people also visited graveyards to offer Fateha for their departed loved ones. The residents of the twin cities visited cemeteries to pray for the dead, in accordance with the teachings of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). People living in the rest of the country also celebrated Eid with great enthusiasm and offered sacrifices of animals. In Lahore, the main Eid congregation was held at Badshahi Mosque. In Karachi, the main Eid congregation was held at Gulshan-e-Jinnah while other large congregations were held at Nishtar Park, National Stadium and Eidgah Nazimabad. In Peshawar, the main congregation was held at Eidgah
Charsadda Road while in Quetta, it was held at Eidgah Toghi Road and Alamdar Road. The occasion was also celebrated with great enthusiasm in Gilgit-Baltistan. In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the main congregation was held at Central Eidgah in Muzaffarabad. Under comprehensive security plans, security personnel were deployed to ensure foolproof security for the worshipers in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and the rest of the country. Cellular services were also suspended in high risk areas from 6am to 10am in different parts of the country on Eid in lieu of security risks.
