ISLAMABAD: The enthusiasm in the air was hard to miss as thousands across Pakistan celebrated Eid Milad-un-Nabi on Wednesday to commemorate Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) birthday.
Streets, shopping malls and government buildings adorned with colorful lights to mark the event which began with a 31-gun salute in the federal capital and a 21-gun salute in the four provincial capitals of the country.
Celebrated every year, people make special arrangements to mark the occasion by praying for the unity, progress, and prosperity of Muslims around the world.
Pakistan’s new political administration announced plans to commemorate the occasion at the state levels after it faced violent opposition from certain right-wing religious factions, in the wake of a Supreme Court verdict acquitting a Christian woman accused of blasphemy.
Addressing a two-day international conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said: “The people who are unable to understand the philosophy of the life of the Prophet [Muhammad (PBUH)] have now become guardians of religion.”
He also informed the audience that Pakistan would work toward the International Convention on Preventing the Defamation of Religions, adding it was not right that the notion of free speech was used with abandon to hurt religious sentiments of Muslims across the world.
He also announced that he was going to appoint an international law expert, Ahmer Bilal Soofi as his envoy for this purpose, whose role would be to convince different countries to sign the document.
Khan also noted that his administration had asked the Higher Education Commission to include specialized courses in Pakistan’s three universities to undertake deeper research on the life of the Prophet.
Pakistan observes Eid Milad-un-Nabi with full fervor
Pakistan observes Eid Milad-un-Nabi with full fervor
- Government announces plans to commemorate occasion at the state level
- PM Khan vows to make country lead global campaign against defamation of religions
Firefighters put out blaze near site of deadly shopping mall inferno in Karachi
- Building fires have become an increasingly frequent occurrence in Pakistan’s Karachi, where an inferno killed dozens last month
- Thousands rallied in city on Sunday to demand resignations of officials and systemic reforms, underscoring deepening public anger
KARACHI: Firefighters have extinguished a fire that erupted at a commercial building in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi close to the site where a deadly blaze killed dozens of people last month, the city’s deputy mayor said on Monday.
The fire erupted at a building near the Mobile Phone Market in Karachi’s Saddar business district, according to Karachi Deputy Mayor Salman Murad.
Two people were rescued in the incident who were given medical assistance by a Rescue 1122 ambulance on the spot, a Rescue 1122 spokesperson said.
“The fire brigade and rescue agencies took timely action. Thank God, there was no loss of life,” Murad said in a statement.
“The cause of fire is being determined and the losses of affected shopkeepers will be assessed.”
The incident occurred close to Gul Plaza, a multi-story shopping complex, where a fire last month killed at least 67 people and gutted 1,200 shops, with more than 15 people still missing.
Fire incidents have become an increasingly frequent occurrence in Karachi, a megacity of more than 20 million people, where fire services remain severely overstretched and under-resourced relative to population density and the scale of commercial activity.
Thousands rallied in Karachi on Sunday to demand the resignations of local officials and systemic reforms, underscoring deepening public anger over civic failures in Pakistan’s largest city.
