KARACHI - Like other parts of the country, Eidul Fitr was celebrated with religious zeal and fervour in Karachi on Saturday.

Major Eid congregation was held Gulshan-e-Jinnah formerly known as Polo Ground where Governor Sindh Muhammad Zubair, Mayor Karachi Wasim Akhtar, Ambassadors of Islamic States, political leaders, caretaker ministers and other citizens offered Eid prayer. After the prayer, the governor also met with prominent citizens of the city.

Meanwhile, around 4,000 Eid prayer congregations were held in the city. The ulema and clerics in their sermons highlighted the significance of Eidul Fitr while special prayers for the peace, development and prosperity of the country were also offered.

The law enforcement agencies including police and Rangers made special security arrangements to maintain a peaceful environment in the city. Police and Rangers personnel were deployed outside mosques, Eidgahs and other places of worship to guard the worshipers. 

Separately, Municipal services including Karachi Metropolitan Corporations, District Municipal Corporations, Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, Cantonment Boards and others made special cleanliness arrangements in city especially outside the Eid congregation sites to facilitate the citizens.

To celebrate Eid, a large number of citizens were gathered at amusement parks, sea sites. Citizens especially children were enjoying different rides in various amusement parks while thousands of people enjoyed camel and horse ride at different beaches including Sea View, Clifton, Manora, Neelam Point, Hawksbay, Paradise Point and others.

Similarly, people were visited homes to their relatives and near once to exchange greeting and also enjoying different food and sweet dishes.

On the other side, low deployment of traffic police personnel creates massive traffic jam issues at various key arteries of the city as motorists were stuck in long queues for long hours during Eid days. 

Minister celebrates Eid with prisoners

Sindh caretaker Minister of Law & Parliamentary Affairs Jamil Yousuf has assured that the cases proceedings against the juvenile prisoners allegedly involved in minor crimes must be expedited very soon.

Jamil was assuring while visiting the youth offender centre at Karachi Central Jail in the invitation of Justice Help Line, an NGO to celebrate Eid with juvenile and women prisoners on Monday.

During his visit, the minister met with the juvenile prisoners and inquired about their issues some of them started complains by saying that their cases were not being proceeded properly as they are not able to hire lawyers.

Few prisoners also informed that they were innocent, the police arrested them without any charges, the police are still failed to prove them guilty in the trail courts and no evidence against them was produced by the police.

The minister expressed his concerns by saying that most of the juveniles are detained in minor cases they can be released if their cases proceeded properly.

The minister was informed that around 100 prisoners and as many as 120 women prisoners are in jail, mostly were under trail in minor cases but they have no any legal assistance due to poverty. The minister has appreciated the effects of the NGO’s working for the welfare of the juvenile and women prisoners. He said that it was the state responsibly to initiate some steps to provide better opportunity to the youth inmates for their better future but they failed to do so.

Jamil has also assured that details of cases of juvenile and women prisoners will be gathered to resolve their grievances on priority bases.

The minister directed the jail authorities to provide technical skills and basic education to prisoners to make them able to earn for their families. He has also directed to provide extracurricular and arrange healthy activities for the teenaged prisoners.

The caretaker minister visited different barracks of the prison and met with the prisoners and enquired about their grievances, he also directed the jail authorities to resolve their issues.

On the eve of Eid, the minster also cut the Eid cake with the prisoners and distributed gifts to them. The minster was also accompanied by Justice Kazi Khalid Ali, vice chancellor of Shaheed Zulfiqar Bhutto Law University, president of Justice Helpline Nadeem Shaikh Advoctae, Atam parkash and others.