PESHAWAR: The Christian community in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa celebrated Christmas with religious zeal on Friday amid tight security.

In Peshawar, the Christmas congregations were held in 30 churches where tight security arrangements were made for the occasion. Contingents of police were deployed in and around the worship places and participants were allowed after proper identification by the volunteers in order to thwart any untoward incident.

Big congregations were held in the main churches, including All Saints Church Kohati, Saint John’s Cathedral and St Michael’s Catholic Church in Saddar. The Christmas prayers were also offered in churches located at Swato Phattak, Sufaid Dheri, Peshtakhara, Christian Colony, Zargarabad, Yakatoot, Academy Town and Tehkal and Gulbahar areas.

Christmas was also observed in parts of Khyber Agency with religious fervour. The main congregations were held in Landi Kotal and Jamrud.

The Christian community also remained busy in religious activities in their residential localities. The people also held cake-cutting ceremonies and exchanged gifts.

The participants at other churches also prayed for the departed souls of those killed in different sabotage incidents in Peshawar and other parts of the province. They also demanded of the government to extend financial support to the bereaved families and survivors of the tragic incidents.

“We celebrated Christmas in a peaceful atmosphere while keeping in view the standard operating procedures (SoPs) to ensure our safety from Covid-19,” Pastor Shehzad Murad, who heads All Saints Church Kohati, told Dawn.

He said that despite threat alerts his community celebrated the Christmas in a peaceful atmosphere. He said that bomb disposal unit’s personnel also checked the security arrangements.

Shehzad Murad said that in their sermons the priests prayed for peace and development of the country besides safety from coronavirus.

The speakers, he said, stressed on interfaith harmony and peaceful coexistence in the society.

He said the priests exhorted the participants to extend full support to the law-enforcement agencies in maintenance of law and order to defeat anti-social elements.

About their problems, he said that the Christian community had suffered a lot during militancy and thus it was duty of the government to support the families who suffered during the bombing incident at All Saints Church, Kohati.

Bishop Humphrey Sarfraz Peter headed the prayers at Saints John’s Cathedral, Peshawar Saddar.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2020