President, PM urge nation to celebrate Eid with simplicity
Remember quake survivors on Eid
By Asim Hussein

ISLAMABAD—President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz terming Oct 8 earthquake as a great human tragedy have appealed to the nation to celebrate Eid with simplicity and deposit Fitrana, Zakat and generous donations in the President's relief fund.
In his message on the occasion of Eid ul Fitr President Musharraf said, "Today on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, I congratulate the whole nation. I am thankful to Almighty Allah for granting us patience, fortitude, courage, steadfastness and spirit of worship in the holy month of Ramzan.
Due to his blessings we fulfilled the duty of fasting with sincerity and submission and bowed our heads of before Allah.
By virtue of this our faith and belief has been strengthened. It was an account of the blessings and grace of Allah Almighty that we were bestowed with honour and dignity of this holy month.
This year our festival of Eid is sorrowful. In NWFP and Azad Kashmir, as a result of devastation caused by the recent earthquake, many of our children became orphans, parents lost their beloved ones and numerous women became widows.
Thousands of people were injured and lakhs were rendered homeless. The estimate of financial losses exceeds billion of rupees. It is such a colossal human tragedy that the nation shall not be able to recover from the consequent agony for a long time.
Each and every segment of the nation displayed exemplary spirit of solidarity, harmony, unity and oneness in mitigating the suffering and tribulations of the earthquake hit people, which is highly commendable. However, there is still a lot to be done for the rehabilitation of the affected people.
It is my appeal to you to remember the earthquake victims in your Eid festivities, celebrate Eid with simplicity and deposit Fitrana, Zakat and generous donations in the President's relief fund". You attention and assistance will be helpful in alleviating the hardship and pain of earthquake victims, the President said. In this way while partaking of the joys of Eid we can also discharge our national and societal responsibilities.
"I pray to Almighty Allah to protect us from trials, forgive our mistakes, guide us to become real human beings and give us the courage and steadfastness to face difficulties and challenges, Amen Pakistan Zinda Bad", he said.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in his separate Eid message said today we are celebrating Eid with a pledge that we overcome the troubled times we are facing at this moment due to the devastating earthquake with courage and hard work.
Prime Minister said the way nation displayed exemplary spirit of solidarity, harmony, unity and oneness in mitigating the suffering and tribulations of the earthquake hit people is highly commendable. Appealing for more aid for the quake victims the PM said the nation while celebrating Eid should not forget their fellow quake victims in their time of tribulation and should donate whole heartedly in the President Relief Fund and visit the affectees at the relief camps so that they know that are not alone in their troubled time.