Green flags flutter on rooftops of buildings in the garrison city, while mosques, homes and shops are illuminated as Eid Miladun Nabi approaches.

With the start of Rabiul Awwal, the sale of flags, badges, colourful lights, buntings and other decorative items has increased, while craftsmen in the old bazaars from Purana Qila to Banni Chowk are working day and night to meet demand.

Houses and mosques across the city are being tastefully decorated with colourful lights and tinsel to give the occasion a festive touch. In different areas, people are making arrangements to celebrate the occasion on Wednesday (August 26).

Shops selling decorations, lights and sound systems have come to life, with people thronging markets to purchase items to illuminate their houses, shops, streets and mosques.

In Banni Chowk, Urdu Bazaar, Bara Market, Narankari Bazaar and Raja Bazaar, preparations are in full swing. Residents and Milad committees in different localities are decorating the route of the main procession with banners carrying messages regarding Eid Miladun Nabi. Government and private buildings, shopping malls, houses, roads and streets are also being decorated with lights.

Catering services are receiving orders for sweet dishes and food, with some meals sponsored by philanthropists and religious groups. Cooks are being hired to prepare rice and kheer on Eid Miladun Nabi.

Food is distributed among participants of the Eid Miladun Nabi processions, neighbours and the destitute.

The main Eid Miladun Nabi procession will be taken out from Markazi Jamia Mosque, Raja Bazaar, at 10am under the aegis of the Central Committee for Jashn-i-Eid Miladun Nabi. It will later be joined by other rallies from different areas.

The procession will pass through its traditional route, including Jamia Masjid Road, Kohati Bazaar, Benazir Bhutto Road, Iqbal Road, Fawara Chowk, Raja Bazaar and Dingi Khoi, before culminating at Markazi Jamia Mosque at night.

Several thousand policemen and law-enforcement personnel will cordon off the entire procession route from the morning.

Armoured personnel carriers (APCs), vehicles carrying arms and ammunition, the bomb disposal squad, City Fire Brigade, Rescue 1122, hospital ambulance squads and technical sweeping teams will remain on high alert on the day.

The Rawalpindi Waste Management Company has been asked to clean the traditional procession route with rose water (Arqa Gulab) early Wednesday morning. The sanitation department will remain alert to prevent waterlogging at Jamia Masjid Road in case of rain.

“In the city’s main streets and roads, one can see the decoration of buildings and mosques, and people have made arrangements on their own,” said Abdul Rasheed, a resident of Banni Chowk.

He said residents had formed groups to decorate houses, streets and mosques, with every member working voluntarily and contributing money to make the festival colourful.

Muhammad Adnan, a shopkeeper in Banni Chowk, said he had been making colourful lights and boards featuring pictures of the Kaaba and Masjid-i-Nabawi for the last 20 years.

He said the cost of decoration boards and lights varied according to their size and the type of lights used. He added that people mostly sought to decorate their houses and mosques for a month.

“The manufacturing process of flags and banners is completed in three stages. In the first step, names are traced onto the fabric. This is followed by embroidery, and in the last step, the fabric is given the shape of a flag. The size can range from one to two feet according to the requirements of clients,” explained Muhammad Qamar, a shopkeeper in Purana Qila.

Muhammad Yousaf, owner of a catering service in Chittian Hattian, said orders for charity food, including kheer, halwa and biryani, were being received a week in advance. He said cooks would start preparing the food from Tuesday night so that it would be ready on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2026