Christmas, Quaid’s birthday to be celebrated on Dec 25

LAHORE, Dec 24 (APP): Christian community will celebrate its religious festival of Christmas with fervor and zeal, while the nation will also celebrate the birth anniversary of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah tomorrow (December 25).

The government has taken numerous steps to facilitate this minority segment of the country.

Various educational institutions, Nazria-e-Pakistan Turst (NPT), Aiwan Karkunan Tehrik-e-Pakistan and others will also hold ceremonies to pay rich homage to Father of the Nation.

The law enforcement agencies including the police have also put in place a foolproof security apparatus around the Churches and Christian settlements as well as parks, food outlet and other recreational places where the Christians are expected to celebrate their festival.

Like the past, the provincial government has set up Special Christmas Bazaars this year as well in Christian settlements in all the districts of Punjab well before the arrival of Christmas, in which flour and other edibles are being provided on subsidized rates.

Christian employees of the provincial government have also been given their monthly salaries much earlier enabling them to celebrate their gala most conveniently.

Various public and private departments, educational institutions, political parties and others have also been arranging the Christmas cake cutting ceremony since start of the month of December.

Christians have also started special service in the Churches, which will continue till evening of December 25 in all the Churches, however, the major service will be performed at Church of Pakistan, Lahore Cathedral and other main churches of the provincial capital.

According to DIG (Operations) Lahore Rai Babar Saeed, 6000 police officers and officials would perform duty on the eve of Christmas and Quaid-i-Azam Day.

He added that contingents of police personnel including six SPs, 35 DSPs, 84 Inspectors and 322 Upper Subordinates would be deployed at 623 churches across Lahore.

The DIG vowed that they would ensure security of churches, markets and recreational places situated near Christian worship places, as well as the places where ceremonies regarding Quaid’s Day would be held.

He mentioned that snipers and commandos would be deputed around the churches fall in category A, while proper monitoring of sensitive and public places would also be ensured through CCTV cameras to avoid any unwanted incident.