KARACHI: Muslims in Pakistan crowded mosques and prayer grounds across the country to offer prayers and sacrifice goats and cows for Eid Al-Adha holiday on Saturday, marking the second major religious festival of Islam.
Security was tight, with authorities on guard from any possible attack by religious extremists who have carried out bombings across the country in recent years.
“Today, we are here to offer Eid prayers,” said worshipper Saleem Ahmed at a ceremony in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. “The security arrangements were very good. May Allah approve our prayers.”
Eid Al-Adha commemorates the Qur’anic tale of the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to Allah, before Allah replaced the son with a ram to be sacrificed instead. A similar story involving Abraham is recounted in the holy books of Judaism and Christianity.
It is tradition for those who can afford it to sacrifice domestic animals as a symbol of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son.
The result is a booming pre-holiday trade in goats, cows and sheep. In Pakistan alone, nearly 10 million animals, worth more than $3 billion, are slaughtered during the two days of Eid Al-Adha, according to the Pakistan Tanners’ Association.
“We are presenting sacrifices to follow the path of the prophet Abraham. We should not forget our poor and needy Muslim brethren on this occasion,” Karachi resident Mohamad Muzammil said at the prayer ground where cows and goats were being slaughtered.
Eid Al-Adha marks the end of an annual Hajj, or pilgrimage to Makkah, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, and should be undertaken by every Muslim who can afford to do so.
With a population of about 208 million people, Pakistan is the sixth most-populous country in the world, and has the second largest Muslim population after Indonesia. About 97 percent of Pakistanis are Muslims.
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With prayer, sacrifices, Pakistani Muslims celebrate Eid Al-Adha
With prayer, sacrifices, Pakistani Muslims celebrate Eid Al-Adha
Australian bushfires raze homes, cut power to tens of thousands
SYDNEY: Thousands of firefighters battled bushfires in Australia’s southeast on Saturday that have razed homes, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swathes of bushland. The blazes have torn through more than 300,000 hectares (741,316 acres) of bushland amid a heatwave in Victoria state since the middle of the week, authorities said on Saturday, and 10 major fires were still burning statewide. In neighboring New South Wales state, several fires close to the Victorian border were burning at emergency level, the highest danger rating, the Rural Fire Service said, as temperatures hit the mid-40s Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit). More than 130 structures, including homes, have been destroyed and around 38,000 homes and businesses were without power due to the fires in Victoria, authorities said. The fires were the worst to hit the state since the Black Summer blazes of 2019-2020 that destroyed an area the size of Turkiye and killed 33 people. “Where we can fires will be being brought under control,” Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan told reporters, adding thousands of firefighters were in the field.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the nation faced a day of “extreme and dangerous” fire weather, especially in Victoria, where much of the state has been declared a disaster zone.
“My thoughts are with Australians in these regional communities at this very difficult time,” Albanese said in televised remarks from Canberra. One of the largest fires, near the town of Longwood, about 112 km (70 miles) north of Melbourne, has burned 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) of bushland, destroying 30 structures, vineyards and agricultural land, authorities said. Dozens of communities near the fires have been evacuated and many of the state’s parks and campgrounds were closed. A heatwave warning on Saturday was in place for large parts of Victoria, while a fire weather warning was active for large areas of the country including New South Wales, the nation’s weather forecaster said. In New South Wales capital Sydney, the temperature climbed to 42.2 C, more than 17 degrees above the average maximum for January, according to data from the nation’s weather forecaster.
It predicted conditions to ease over the weekend as a southerly change brought milder temperatures to the state.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the nation faced a day of “extreme and dangerous” fire weather, especially in Victoria, where much of the state has been declared a disaster zone.
“My thoughts are with Australians in these regional communities at this very difficult time,” Albanese said in televised remarks from Canberra. One of the largest fires, near the town of Longwood, about 112 km (70 miles) north of Melbourne, has burned 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) of bushland, destroying 30 structures, vineyards and agricultural land, authorities said. Dozens of communities near the fires have been evacuated and many of the state’s parks and campgrounds were closed. A heatwave warning on Saturday was in place for large parts of Victoria, while a fire weather warning was active for large areas of the country including New South Wales, the nation’s weather forecaster said. In New South Wales capital Sydney, the temperature climbed to 42.2 C, more than 17 degrees above the average maximum for January, according to data from the nation’s weather forecaster.
It predicted conditions to ease over the weekend as a southerly change brought milder temperatures to the state.
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