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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday felicitated the Hindu community on Holi as it celebrated the occasion across Pakistan, calling for the day to be celebrated with a resolve to \u201ccelebrate our differences as strengths\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a statement shared by the Prime Minister\u2019s Office (PMO), Shehbaz said, \u201cI extend my felicitations to the Hindu community on the auspicious occasion of Holi festival \u2014 the festival of colours.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Pakistanis, we take pride in the multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious characteristics of our society,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet us commemorate this day with a resolve to celebrate our differences as strengths,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The prime minister also expressed hope for \u201cnew beginnings, hope, and happiness to us all\u201d with the arrival of spring.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari said the festival was symbolic of the triumph of good over evil. In a statement carried by state broadcaster Radio Pakistan<\/a><\/em>, he said that the Constitution guaranteed religious freedom.<\/p>\n \u201cPakistan is a beautiful bouquet of people belonging to all religions,\u201d the statement quoted him as saying.<\/p>\n The Foreign Office, in a post on X<\/a>, wished \u201ceveryone celebrating a joyful and colourful Holi\u201d.<\/p>\n Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also extended her felicitations towards the community.<\/p>\n She also announced a package for the community \u201con the occasion of Holi\u201d where 700 \u201cHindu families in the province will be given Rs10,000 per family\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe festival of Holi will lead to the promotion of tolerance, peace and brotherhood in the country,\u201d she said, adding that all minorities in the country had equal rights.<\/p>\n Former premier and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif also posted a \u201cHappy Holi\u201d message<\/a> on his account on social media platform X.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n