For the last few weeks, in response to December terrorist attacks across the country, law enforcement agencies visited churches to put into place comprehensive security arrangements for prayer services and other religious activities on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Just two days before Christmas, Pakistani militants carried out a suicide bombing in Islamabad, the country’s capital. When police tried to stop them at a checkpoint one police officer was killed.
More than 1,500 policemen were deployed around churches in the capital to ensure foolproof security during prayer services. In Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghanistan border, Pakistan army personnel also set up posts in volatile areas.
Christians began decorating their homes and their neighborhoods in November, and in many communities were assisted by their Muslim neighbors. In a “katchi abadi” (squatter settlement) in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, Muslims lent a hand to help decorate the Christmas tree.
Seraphine Pervaiz, a Catholic from Lahore, told ACI Mena that every year in her neighborhood Muslims are “happy and proud” to take part in such Christmas activities.
Christmas is celebrated openly in this Muslim-majority country. Big hotels and supermarkets also put up Christmas trees to mark Christmas. And preparations begin early — in big cities Christmas shops open in October.
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