Minorities in Pakistan are free to practice their religion as there are around 2,652 churches in the country – one church per 664 Christians, comparing one mosque per 2,249 Muslims in the UK
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Like everywhere in the world, Christian community in Pakistan is also celebrating their annual religious festival of Easter today (Sunday, April 9), marking special services and other festivities.
Easter Sunday is one of the most festive events among Christians globally that commemorates Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death, according to the Bible. The Christians believe Jesus was resurrected in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. Just like any other festival, Christians living in different parts of the country make special arrangements to celebrate Easter Sunday. The Christians celebrating the festival in Pakistan receive heartfelt greetings from their countrymen which manifests an atmosphere of good cultural and religious harmony in the country.
Special services are hosted at different places across the country where the believers attend prayers for salvation, and for the progress and prosperity of Pakistan. Police all over the country make special security arrangements to provide security cover to the community on their festivals. Minorities in Pakistan are free to practice their religion as there are around 2,652 churches in the country – one church per 664 Christians, comparing one mosque per 2,249 Muslims in the UK.
Pakistani state has constantly been taking administrative and legislative measures to protect the minorities’ rights to provide them a safe and free environment without any discrimination. The National Commission for Minorities has been re-constituted. The government has allocated 5 percent job quota for minorities in all federal government services, in addition to the open merit. In Pakistan, 10 religious festivals of minorities including Christmas and Easter for Christians are celebrated at official level, to promote harmony and understanding among all segments of society.
Minorities are provided with equal rights of education, jobs and business opportunities. Four reserved seats in the Senate of Pakistan, 10 in the National Assembly and reserved seats in all provincial assemblies have been allocated for the minorities. In total, 23 seats have been allocated for the minorities in the provincial assemblies including three each in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, eight in Punjab and nine in Sindh.
The government has announced public holidays for minorities on their festivals, however, Christmas is declared as a general public holiday.
The day started with special religious rituals, prayers, and exchange of greetings with messages of goodwill and prosperity while the government made special security arrangements around churches as well as the religious gathering of Christians.
Easter festival
Easter Sunday is typically the most well-attended Sunday service of the year for Christian churches as the Christian community holds prayers and special ceremonies to mark Easter week. According to the Christian faith, the occasion marks the end of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, and the last week of the Lent is called Holy Week which contains Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus.
