Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has offered his Christmas greetings to the country's Christian minority and foreign aid workers who are spending the holiday helping earthquake survivors in Pakistani Kashmir. He said he is grateful to those relief workers who are away from their homes and families during this Christmas to help the Pakistani people. He also thanked Pakistan's Christian minority for their contribution to the nation's society.
In the earthquake-hit towns of Pakistani Kashmir, the army staged a huge Christmas celebration to make foreign aid workers feel at home. In neighboring India also, Christians celebrated the holy day by feasting and attending midnight masses in churches across the country. In Bangladesh, where police are still rounding up suspected Islamic militants responsible for recent bomb attacks, hundreds of troops, sniffer dogs and undercover intelligence agents were on guard as the country's half-a-million Christians celebrated Christmas.