Islamabad: Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) organized a cake-cutting ceremony to celebrate Christmas with the Christian community.
Mahesh Kumar Malani, former minister of state for National Health Services was the chief guest and Archbishop Dr Joseph Arshad was the guest of honor. Ambassadors of Azerbaijan, Syria, Nepal, Myanmar and Counsellors of Sri Lanka and Egypt and others were also present on the occasion, said a press release.
Addressing the ceremony, Mahesh Kumar Malani said that Christians and other minorities in Pakistan were enjoying better protection of their rights and did not feel any insecurity.
He said that the armed forces, judiciary and all institutions in the country were fully cooperating with the minorities while minorities in India were facing oppression.
He said that a certain mindset wanted to destroy the image of Pakistan, but we all would foil them. He lauded ICCI for celebrating Christmas and added that such events contribute to promoting interfaith harmony in t
he country.
Speaking at the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that the Christian community was playing an important role in the economic development of Pakistan, which is laudable.
He said that Christians around the world were gearing up to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ who was a symbol of peace, brotherhood, and respect for the entire humanity.
Bakhtawari said that Jesus Christ not only healed the ailing humanity, but he also preached the divine values of tolerance, love, and compassion, which were kept in high esteem in Islam as well.
He said that Pakistan needs the adoption of these values to emerge as a strong country. He assured that ICCI would continue to play a role in promoting the business interests of all communities so that they could play a more effective role in the economic development of the country.
Dr Ramez Alraee, Ambassador of Syria lauded ICCI for organizing the Christmas ceremony and stressed promoting love, toleranc
e, and generosity to cooperation among nations and make the world peaceful.
Tapas Adhikari, Ambassador of Nepal said that Christmas is a global festival, which promotes interfaith harmony. Pakistan was providing space for minorities to celebrate their religious festivals and preserve the sites of all religions, which is laudable. Such initiatives would also promote tourism and business activities in Pakistan, he said.
Archbishop Dr Joseph Arshad and Pastor Samson Sohail read the message of Jesus Christ for conciliation, love, and forgiveness and added that such events promoted inter-faith harmony and unity in the country.
Ch. Ashraf Farzand Convener ICCI Interfaith Harmony Committee and Pastor Petros Joseph thanked ICCI for organizing the Merry Christmas ceremony for the Christian community.
They said that Christmas was an occasion to promote love and peace. They assured of their cooperation to ICCI in initiatives focused on promoting the interests of minorities.