There was no issue of the paper on this date on account of a public holiday. The excerpt below is taken from the previous day’s edition.

KARACHI: Muslims and Christians in Pakistan are today [Dec 25] celebrating their two major festivals — Eid-ul-Azha and Christmas — a phenomenon which is unlikely to recur again for at least two centuries, astronomers say. They said that although the exact year of another coincidence of this nature could be ascertained only by the observatories of the universities of Punjab and Karachi, both of which are closed due to holidays, it could be safely said that there was no chance of Eid-ul-Azha and Christmas falling the same day again in less than 200 years. — Staff reporter

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Beirut,] armies of Egypt, Syria and Lebanon were on alert to repel possible Israeli pre-emptive strikes today [Dec 24] as Muslims celebrated … Eidul Azha. Lebanon’s armed forces ... are placed on alert. … Reports from Damascus said the Syrian Government have put the forces on maximum alert. High-flying Israeli warplanes sent sonic booms rumbling across Lebanon ... as Muslims began their Al Azha festival, wary of a large-scale attack.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2024