RAWALPINDI: Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa
attended an event at Christ Church on Monday to participate in Christmas
celebrations.
He wished the Christian community Merry
Christmas and acknowledged the role of the community not only in the
creation of Pakistan but also its progress.
The army
chief appreciated the role of various institutions in the fields of
education, health and public welfare being managed by the Christian
community across the country. He also acknowledged their contributions
in defence of the motherland as part of Pakistan’s armed forces.
Earlier,
a congregation welcomed the army chief and thanked him for taking part
in the festivities. Gen Bajwa’s visit came as a surprise to the church
attendees. The church was informed about his visit a day earlier so that
arrangements could be made.
The army chief stayed at the church for an hour during
which he attended the service and had some Christmas cake. This was the
army chief’s first official visit to the church.
According
to Junaid Javed, a member of the Christ Church committee, Gen Bajwa had
visited the church two years ago on Christmas, but he wasn’t army chief
at the time.
“The army chief’s visit has created a
sense of security among members of the Christian community who were
feeling insecure after the Quetta incident,” said Mr Javed, adding that
the security arrangements at the church were much better this year than
those of last year.
Ten people were killed and scores of
others injured when terrorists carried out a gun-and-bomb attack on the
Bethel Memorial Methodist Church in Quetta on Dec 17.
