LAHORE: As the sun dips below the horizon, signaling the end of the day’s fast, the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore begins to stir with renewed vitality, attracting people to the historic site of worship for special Ramadan night prayers.
Most of these people are residents of different neighborhoods of the city, but a significant chunk of them also travels from nearby towns and settlements, all drawn by the profound spiritual gravity of the last ten days of the Muslim fasting month.
These days have unparalleled significance since they contain Laylat Al-Qadr, the Night of Power, when the first verses of the Holy Qur’an were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The air is charged with devotion, as the faithful seek to immerse themselves in prayer and reflection to maximize their spiritual experience.
Among the sea of believers is Irfan Hussain, who has traveled all the way from London. For him, this pilgrimage is an inward journey and a chance to experience the collective fervor of the special Taraweeh prayers in the mosque’s expansive courtyard, under the expanse of the night sky.
“To be honest, I’ve always dreamed to come to the Badshahi Mosque,” he told Arab News. “I’ve been to many mosques across the world but this Masjid is truly beautiful.”
What made his experience even more exhilarating is Jumu‘ah-tul-Wida‘a, the last Friday of Ramadan, which is considered sacred since it marks the biggest congregational prayer of the month before Eid Al-Fitr.
“Praying outdoors especially is amazing,” he continued. “In the UK, [and other] parts of the world, [we] don’t get a chance to pray outdoors.”
Hussain’s presence at the mosque, amid the throng of worshippers, reflects the timeless allure of the Badshahi Mosque, a place where history and holiness converge, offering a sanctuary for those seeking spiritual renewal in the sacred nights of Ramadan.
Constructed in the 17th century under the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb, the mosque offers a glimpse into the magnificence of Mughal architecture. Its red color enhances the grandeur of the large central dome, which is framed by grand minarets at each of the building’s four corners. Worshippers entering the main hall also marvel at the intricate marble work.
Unlike other mosques in much of the rest of the country, women also play a significant role in the communal life here, with dedicated areas for them to perform the Taraweeh and Friday prayers.
“[We want to ensure] that women can offer communal prayers as they’re meant to during special occasions like Ramadan, instead of just praying at home,” Bashir Azad, a mosque administrator, told Arab News.
The iftar offerings at the mosque, free and sizeable, start with the traditional dates, following Islamic custom. This also attracts many people, who had come for the Friday prayers, to stay through iftar, followed by the Isha and Taraweeh prayers.
Azad said the mosque’s ability to provide respite from the sun, combined with its historical significance in Old Lahore, created one of the finest communal prayer experiences.
“We offer one of the best experiences of communal prayers, so I think this all ties in together,” he continued. “People come early and they don’t want to leave till late.”
Dozens of people in the mosque are also practicing spiritual seclusion, known as i‘tikaf, observed during the last ten days of Ramadan, where Muslims dedicate themselves to prayer and Qur’anic reflection.
Dr. Mustafa Kamal, a radio presenter, is one of them.
“Yes, I’ve been coming here [in Ramadan] for a number of years now,” he said. “It’s difficult to say why I choose this mosque. There’s a sense of peace and calm here. I think my mind [stays] at ease here.”
Unlike such regulars, many people, like a woman named Shumaila, said they were offering Taraweeh prayers at the Badshahi Mosque for the first time.
“This is the first time I’ve been here for Taraweeh prayers. My son brought me here. The atmosphere here is great,” she said, attributing the tranquility of the place to the separate praying enclave for women.
Another woman, Hafsa, said she had come to the mosque with her sister and father on Jumu‘ah-tul-Wida‘a, even as their own home was situated in a different corner of the city in Raiwind.
“We come to the Badshahi Mosque very often,” she told Arab News. “Every Eid prayer and especially to say Taraweeh prayers during Ramadan.”
Asked why so many people within the city preferred to commute for an hour to come to this mosque, she said: “Because it’s a historical place [built] around 500 years ago by [Mughal Emperor] Aurangzeb Alamgir. So, a lot of people get together so they can perform Taraweeh in one of Allah’s grandest houses on earth.”
Nightly prayers transform historic Badshahi Mosque into Ramadan retreat in Pakistan’s Lahore
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Nightly prayers transform historic Badshahi Mosque into Ramadan retreat in Pakistan’s Lahore
- Built in the 17th century, the mosque hosts thousands of people every week, with a large percentage of them women
- The number of people going to the mosque for worship has even increased further during the last ten days of Ramadan
Protesters in northwest Pakistan end weeklong sit-in after CM assures no military operation being launched
- Pakistan’s government last month announced a new campaign to counter a fresh surge in militancy in areas along the border with Afghanistan
- The announcement raised fears among locals as past operations displaced hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed livelihoods in region
PESHAWAR: Thousands of protesters, who had been staging a sit-in in Pakistan’s Bannu district for a week, on Friday called off their protest after Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur assured them that no military operation was being launched in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
Pakistan’s government last month announced a new campaign to counter a fresh surge in militancy in areas along the border with Afghanistan. Major opposition parties opposed the operation and in Bannu — where eight soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing last week — thousands held rallies to call for peace and security.
One of the key demands of the protesters in Bannu was for the government to not launch any new military operation in the province. They demanded that a spike in militant attacks in the region be tackled by empowering and better equipping civilian agencies like the police and the counter-terrorism department (CTD).
On Friday, CM Gandapur traveled to Bannu where he spoke to the protesters and announced at a rally that all their demands had been accepted in letter and spirit, lauding local elders for helping avert violence when two protesters were killed after gunfire triggered a stampede at the rally on June 19.
“I have a signed copy [of the demands]. It has been done the way you [protesters] wanted,” he told the gathering. “I’m the owner of this soil and land, no one can oppress me or coerce me. As chief minister, I declare that there will be no operation in the province.”
The announcement came a day after the provincial apex committee, which comprises civilian leaders and military commanders in the province, met to discuss the situation in Bannu. The KP government later clarified that police and the CTD would be tasked to take action against militants amid a surge in violence in the area.
The resentment for military operation stems from past displacement of hundreds of thousands of people and destruction of countless homes and businesses in successive military campaigns in KP that began in 2014. But Pakistani military spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry dispelled the fears this week, saying the newly proposed Azm-e-Istehkam campaign was not meant to be a full-scale military operation.
“We have offered sacrifices for our homeland and stood loyal to the country and its people. We left our homes and became nomads for our land and for the sake of peace,” Gandapur said. “We will offer sacrifices again but we will make the decisions ourselves and will not allow anyone to impose their decisions.”
The chief minister appreciated police for taking swift action against illegal armed groups in Bannu.
Provincial Minister for Public Health Engineering Pakhtunyar Khan, who hails from Bannu, said the people of the region had experienced “unspeakable hardships” for the sake of peace.
“We want peace for the entire province and we will not back down from this demand,” Khan said at the rally.
On Thursday, the apex committee said the judiciary would be requested to hold an inquiry into the Bannu shooting incident, a demand that had been put forward by protesters and Pakistan’s opposition alliance.
“Meanwhile, the government will hold its own inquiry and identify the persons responsible,” it said in a statement.
Pakistan’s finance minister discusses Panda Bond launch with China’s central bank governor in Beijing
- The bonds are denominated in China’s currency and will provide Pakistan access to Chinese capital markets
- The finance minister also discusses the next CPEC stage, expected to emphasize business-to-business ties
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb briefed Governor of People’s Bank of China (PBoC) Pan Gongsheng on Pakistan’s plan to launch Panda Bonds during a meeting in Beijing on Friday in which they discussed a wide range of economic issues.
Panda Bonds are sold in China’s domestic market and are denominated in its currency, though they are issued by non-Chinese entities. Pakistan plans to issue these bonds to diversify its funding sources and strengthen its foreign exchange reserves by attracting Chinese investors.
According to local media reports, the initial issuance is expected to raise between $250 million and $300 million, helping Pakistan improve its financial stability amid economic challenges like high inflation and declining forex reserves.
The minister spoke about the government’s economic policy during the meeting in which reprentatives of other financial institutions were also present.
“Underlining Pakistan’s plan to launch Panda Bonds, Minister for Finance briefed PBoC and other Financial Institutions about the steps taken so far and sought cooperation of the Chinese institutional investors in the capital market to seek benefit from the pro-business policies of the new [Pakistani] Government,” said a statement issued by the finance division after the meeting.
The Pakistani official also highlighted his country’s improving macroeconomic indicators, reforms in tax collection and energy sector and privatization of loss-making state-owned enterprises.
He applauded Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative while reviewing the progress of its flagship China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
The minister noted the next phase of CPEC would focus on strengthening business-to-business cooperation, with private sector playing the central role in the development and economic growth.
He arrived in China on Thursday to open talks on power sector structural reforms suggested by the International Monetary Fund, two government sources quoted by Reuters.
Aurangzeb is also accompanied by Pakistan’s Power Minster Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari.
According to Reuters, both officials are expected to take up several proposals with the Chinese side, including reprofiling of nearly $15 billion energy sector debt.
Pakistani craftsman strives to preserve antiques in a dying industry
- Based in Rawalpindi’s Bhabra Bazaar, Mohammad Shakeel Abbasi has restored centuries-old bugles, decorative dishes, jars, vases and teapots
- Artefacts at Abbasi’s shop sell for anywhere between $40 to $1,000, many collectors place orders after coming across antiques online
RAWALPINDI: Antiquarian Mohammad Shakeel Abbasi pulled open the shutter of his shop in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi to reveal a small space choke-full of bugles, decorative dishes, jars, vases, teapots, bowls and plates inscribed with ancient motifs.
Located in the historic Bhabra Bazaar, Abbasi’s shop, lit up by a few naked light bulbs, is among a dwindling number of antique restoration workshops in the garrison city. The 71-year-old inherited the craft from his forefathers and set up the shop nearly 40 years ago in 1985, now employing three workers who help him repair, polish and electroplate copper and brass relics to be sold to customers in Pakistan and abroad.
“Since then [1985] I’ve been in this business,” Abbasi told Arab News at his shop earlier this month as he dusted an antique bugle. “We purchase antique items and repair them and polish them and then sell them to our dedicated customers.”
Buyers reach out to him from as far as the UK and US, he added.
Abbasi mainly sources copper and brass items from households and scrap dealers, who scour heaps of imported items that first land at the port in Pakistan’s commercial hub of Karachi.
“The traders who buy them, they contact us,” the craftsman said. “They are broken items, and we have to repair them and polish and recondition them to the extent that you cannot even tell that this was an old item.”
Antiques at Abbasi’s shop can sell for anywhere between $40 to $1,000, but the art of antique preservation and restoration is now at risk of being lost as the new generation is opting out of the profession.
“The problem is that the craftsmen who used to work [on antiques] are no longer available. Not a lot of attention is given to this craft, The government has also not prioritized training craftsmen,” Abbasi lamented.
“Antiquarians quit the business due to lack of business, and some passed away and the new generation isn’t interested in this line of work.”
Customers and collectors who frequent Abbasi’s shop often place orders after coming across antique items on the Internet.
“I have liked an antiques page [on social media]. I searched for an item on the Internet and told him [Abbasi] about it and he arranged it for me,” Dr. Ahmad Ali, an antique collector, told Arab News. “It was the same thing that I had ordered.”
Shamas Rehman, who has been a collector for over two decades, praised Abbasi’s fine craftsmanship.
“My forefathers were collecting antiques, it was their hobby, and now I have been collecting them since 2003,” he said, “and from wherever we can get the antiques, we buy them, collect them and place them in our homes, and this goes on.”
Government orders police to ensure ceasefire after nine killed over property dispute in northwest Pakistan
- The deadly and ongoing clashes over property dispute broke out on Wednesday
- Kurram has seen conflicts between tribes and religious groups in the past
PESHAWAR: The provincial administration of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Friday instructed police to take necessary steps to end ongoing clashes in Kurram district over a property dispute, with nine people killed and dozens injured.
Located along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, the area has witnessed deadly conflicts among tribes and religious groups in the past as well as sectarian clashes and militant attacks. A major conflict that began in Kurram in 2007 continued for years before it was ended with the help of a jirga, a traditional assembly of tribal elders.
The current clash over a land dispute broke out on Wednesday and quickly spread to several villages and nearby settlements.
According to an official statement circulated by the KP government, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur directed the district administration and police to ensure a ceasefire.
“No one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands or disturb the peace of the area,” Gandapur was quoted as saying. “The administration and police must ensure the rule of government and law in the area. The parties to the dispute are also urged to resolve the property issue through a jirga according to tribal traditions.”
Syed Mir Hassan Jan, the Medical Superintendent at the District Headquarters Hospital in Kurram, said nine bodies and 58 injured people linked to the clashes had been brought to the hospital in the last three days.
The District Police Officer in Kurram, Nisar Ahmad Khan, said sporadic attacks were still ongoing.
“The conflict intensifies at night,” he said. “Sporadic exchange of fire has been going on between the tribes during the past two days.”
Khan said a large number of police and army personnel had been deployed at various locations to prevent clashes.
“The jirga, district administration, army and police have intervened to control the situation,” he added.
The roads leading to Kurram have also been shut down since the clashes began.
“The entrances and exits were closed so that any third-party intervention could be avoided,” the DPO said.
Security forces kill militant in intelligence-based operation in Pakistan’s northwest
- ISPR calls the slain militant a close associate of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a high-value target
- It says he facilitated a suicide bombing that killed seven Pakistani security personnel
ISLAMABAD: Security forces have killed a militant in an intelligence-based operation in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said on Friday, adding that he facilitated suicide bombings and was involved in target killings.
KP, which borders Afghanistan, has seen a surge in attacks on security forces, government officials and anti-polio vaccination teams in recent weeks. In a major attack in the province’s Bannu district, ten soldiers were killed when militants launched a coordinated attack on a military cantonment on July 15.
Islamabad blames the recent surge in attacks, including the attack on the army cantonment in Bannu, on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a proscribed armed network, which it says operates out of neighboring Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegations and says rising violence in Pakistan is a domestic issue for Islamabad.
“Security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in the North Waziristan district on the reported presence of terrorists,” the ISPR said, adding that during the course of the operation, a militant named Razzaq was killed.
The slain militant was a close associate of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a high-value target, and remained involved in numerous militant activities in the area including the target killing of Malik Sher Muhammad, a local leader, earlier this year apart from facilitating a suicide bombing in March that resulted in the killing of seven soldiers.
The ISPR said a “sanitization operation” was being conducted to eliminate any other militant found in the area, adding that the security forces remained determined to eliminate extremist violence from the country.
