KARACHI: Christmas as usual began late on Sunday night with midnight services and Mass at all the churches of the city, including the Catholic and Protestant coming under the Church of Pakistan. Special prayers were said for Pakistan and its citizens on the occasion besides seeking absolution for the dearly departed souls during the year.

As the churches celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, there was also an overwhelming sense of sadness and sobriety in the air due to the atrocities and human rights violations against the people of Palestine at the hands of the Israelis.

The Holy Trinity Cathedral here, associated with the Church of Pakistan, was also paid a visit by Special Representative to the Prime Minister for Religious Harmony and Islamic Countries and chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi on the Christmas day.

Speaking on the occasion, he said Pakistan’s Constitution gave equal rights and responsibilities to all citizens of the country.

PM’s Special Representative Tahir Ashrafi visits Holy Trinity Cathedral

“The state will look after every Pakistani following the law of the land,” he said, while quoting Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir. “Of course Muslims are in majority in Pakistan but our minorities are also free to follow their faiths and go to their places of worship here,” he added.

“Today, it is also the birthday of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah who also stood for giving religious minorities a complete freedom to go to their places of worship in Pakistan without any fear,” he said.

While referring to the sad incident of Jaranwala earlier in the year, he said that after it happened, he along with other clerics and government officials not just visited there but all the churches of Pakistan to share their grief as they felt terrible about what happened.

“In Palestine, too, the people are undergoing terrible hardships. Both Muslims and Christians there are facing atrocities of the worst kind. And amid all that, the Christian community there has opened its hearts, homes and churches for the suffering Muslims. They have converted their places of worship into schools and hospitals and also created areas within for the Muslims to pray.

“To this day, the Christian community in Pakistan has been at the forefront of all goodwill, prosperity and success of this country while spreading the message of peace and harmony. When it comes to peace and harmony, the Pakistan Ulema Council and Church of Pakistan, along with the rest of the Christian community, here are on the same page,” he said.

“Against barbaric acts, against injustices both Muslims and Christians are one people. Using strength and force against the weak is not even allowed in the Holy Quran. It is not Islam when a young defenseless girl is made to convert to Islam and made to marry by force, against her will. We denounce such acts,” he said.

Earlier, Rt Rev Fredrick John Bishop of the Karachi and Balochistan Diocese, Church of Pakistan, at the Holy Trinity Cathedral welcomed the special representative to the prime minister. “His presence in this cathedral is encouraging for us. It proves how seriously he and the government takes interfaith harmony.”

The chairman of the Interfaith Commission for Peace and Harmony, Allama Ahsan Siddiqui, was also present on the occasion.

CM visits churches

Caretaker Chief Minister retired Justice Maqbool Baqar, along with Information and Minorities Affairs Minister Ahmad Shah, visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Saddar, met Bishop Benny Mario Travas, and celebrated Christmas by cutting a cake.

Later, he visited Holy Trinity Cathedral, gave a bouquet to Reverend Frederick John, Bishop of Karachi, and presented him with a cake to mark Christmas.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2023