PESHAWAR/KHAR: Eidul Azha was celebrated in Peshawar on Monday with religious fervour to commemorate the great sacrifice of Prophet Hazrat Ibrahim and his son Prophet Hazrat Ismael (AS). The eid day dawned with special prayers in mosques for well-being of the people, progress and prosperity of the nation.

Eid congregations were held at mosques, Eidgahs and different playgrounds where the prayer leaders highlighted the significance of Eidul Azha and urged the people to distribute meat as per Islamic tenets.

The main congregation was held at Eidgah Charsadda Road, Peshawar. Tight security arrangements were adopted at the entrance and around the premises to check movement of suspected people and ensure protection to the people.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman and Chief Minister Mehmood Khan offered Eid prayers at Governor’s House Peshawar.

Later, people offered sacrifice of animals but many of them left animal waste and fodder along the roads and drains, which caused inconvenience to both pedestrians and motorists.

Meanwhile, sale and purchase of sacrificial animals continued on the second day of Eid at different places on Ring Road and in the city areas. The buyers said they witnessed visible decrease in the price of animals.

Besides, a large number of people, especially the youngsters thronged to different recreational places, cinemas and parks in the city, Hayatabad Township and riverside at Sardaryad to enjoy the swings and other facilities. Traffic mess was also observed outside the parks on the second day as the youngsters remained busy in taking selfies and playing on the roads while traffic police remained a mere spectator.

This Eid-ul-Azha coincided with the Independence Day where many of the visitors, young boys were seen holding national flags, wearing masks and playing different size of the tri-colour plastic biguls to show their love for the day.Meanwhile, about 50 per cent population of various areas in Bajaur tribal district celebrated Eidul Azha on Sunday, one day ahead of rest of the country.

As per reports reaching here from different areas, the residents of Mamond, Salar-zai, Nawagai and Chamar-kand tehsils celebrated Eid on Sunday with Saudi Arabia.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2019