RAWALPINDI: Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, while extending Eid greetings to the people of Pakistan, has urged them to temper their happiness on the occasion with a concern for the sufferings of the flood affected people. In his Eid message to the nation, released today [Sept 25], the Prime Minister praised the forbearance and resilience shown by the afflicted and those who assisted in the task of rescue and relief and hoped that the observance of Eid-ul-Fitr will be a “manifestation of the same indomitable spirit and unbreakable optimism”.

Recalling that Pakistan came into being in the month of Ramazan and in the early stages of what was to become a massive migration of Muslims from across the border, Mr Bhutto said: “just as we tempered our feelings of happiness of that occasion with concern ... for the plight of the millions of our millat uprooted from their homes, we would do well to strike a similar balance this year.” He said: the sighting of the Shawwal moon … marks not only the end of the holy month of Ramazan, but, hopefully, also of the period of anguish ... caused to a large segment of the people of Pakistan … by the widespread floods.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2026