RAWALPINDI: Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa attended an event at Christ Church on Monday to participate in Christmas celebrations.

He wished the Christian community Merry Christmas and acknowledged the role of the community not only in the creation of Pakistan but also its progress.

The army chief appreciated the role of various institutions in the fields of education, health and public welfare being managed by the Christian community across the country. He also acknowledged their contributions in defence of the motherland as part of Pakistan’s armed forces.

Earlier, a congregation welcomed the army chief and thanked him for taking part in the festivities. Gen Bajwa’s visit came as a surprise to the church attendees. The church was informed about his visit a day earlier so that arrangements could be made.

The army chief stayed at the church for an hour during which he attended the service and had some Christmas cake. This was the army chief’s first official visit to the church.

According to Junaid Javed, a member of the Christ Church committee, Gen Bajwa had visited the church two years ago on Christmas, but he wasn’t army chief at the time.

“The army chief’s visit has created a sense of security among members of the Christian community who were feeling insecure after the Quetta incident,” said Mr Javed, adding that the security arrangements at the church were much better this year than those of last year.

Ten people were killed and scores of others injured when terrorists carried out a gun-and-bomb attack on the Bethel Memorial Methodist Church in Quetta on Dec 17.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2017