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Thursday March 28, 2024

Residents of twin cities celebrate a pleasant Eidul Azha

By Khalid Iqbal
September 05, 2017

Rawalpindi :Residents of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad celebrated Eidul Azha with traditional religious fervour. Thousands of sacrificial animals were slaughtered. It was a big show on day one; lesser on day two. However strictly following Sharia, many animals were slaughtered even on day three.

Civic authorities, both in the city and Cantonment, made excellent arrangements to lift the offal and keep the city clean. However there were some complaints from some localities in the old city such as Dhok Ratta, Adiala, Dhok Juma, Defence Road, Sadiqabad, Muslim Town, Chamanzar, Arya Mohallah, Mohallah Naik Alam, Scheme-III, Gharibabad, Rehmatabad, Pirwdahi. Some of the localities are in the grip of foul smell as animal's waste was not lifted very quickly leaving stench everywhere. However in such a mammoth operation you have to give licence for that.

Eidul Aza commemorates the obedience of prophet Ibhrahim (AS) who in compliance with Allah’s orders took his son to cut his throat with his own hands. But lo! This was just to test the faith of Ibrahim (AS). Allah replaced the son who was sacrificed instead of son Ismail. A similar story is recounted in the holy books of Judaism and Christianity.

Security was tight, with authorities on guard to stop any possible attack by some fanatics who have carried out bombings across the country in recent years.

Eid prayers were offered in mosques and 'Eidgahs' amid tight security. Some big congregations were held at Jamia Masjid, Makki Masjid near Chungi No. 22, Eidgah Sharif on Asghar Mall Road, Jamia Masjid Ghousia at Khayaban-e-Sir Syed, Ali Masjid Satellite Town, Masjid Siddiq-e-Akbar, Jamia Masjid Saddar, Qadeemi Masjid Adiala, Jamia Masjid near Army House and other places, while in Islamabad big prayers were offered at Faisal Masjid and other mosques. Policemen were present in front of every mosque and 'Eidgah'. There was no untoward incident and the faithful prayed for the prosperity and progress of Pakistan.

As usual butchers were in high demand and they charged very high price. Most of the people paid from Rs3,000 to Rs5,000 for a goat and Rs10,000 to Rs12,000 for a bull. Weather was ideal. There was intermittent rain and cool breeze blew for all the three days and residents of of Rawalpindi and Islamabad enjoyed fine weather.

People faced worst kind of transport shortage on first and second day of Eidul Azha. Taxicabs charged almost double fares, as people could not find even a single public transport vehicle on the first day of Eid.

'Naanbais' sold a 'naan' for Rs10 against Rs8 and a 'roti' for Rs8 against Rs7 due to absence of price checking staff during Eid. Similarly, milkmen sold milk and yogurt at skyrocketing prices, vegetable sellers sold all kinds of vegetables particularly tomato, onion, ginger and green chilli at almost double the normal rates. The grocers and milk shops disregarded the resolve of Talat Gondal DC who had said in a statement that all checking staff will be on duty during Eid holidays. “We will continuously visit markets and shops to check price violations,” he had stated.

On the other hand, residents of Defence Road, Gulistan Colony, Pirwdahi, Sher Zaman and Morgha faced load shedding, tripping and low voltages of light during Eid days. During crackdown, Rawalpindi and Islamabad police locked more than 600 motorcycles and challaned 2,000 violators.

In Pakistan, nearly 10 million animals worth more than $3 billion are slaughtered during the days of Eidul Azha, according to the Pakistan Tanners' Association.

Eidul Azha marks the end of an annual Haj or pilgrimage to Makka, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, and should be undertaken by every Muslim who can afford to do so. Pakistan has a population of about 208 million people.