ISLAMABAD, NOV 25(DNA) – Thousands thronged to the charity bazaar on Sunday held under the aegis of Pakistan Foreign Office Women’s Association (PFOWA).

The hallmark of the bazaar, as usual, was the presence of various foreign missions that established their stalls.

On stalls, the foreign missions displayed various items depicting lifestyle, culture and traditions of the respective country.

Besides, the event provided the guests with an opportunity of tasting delicacies of various countries.  The Central Asian and Arabian cuisines remained center of attraction or the visitors.

This year the Saudi embassy also actively took part in the bazaar by establishing two separate stalls. The head of press section of the Saudi Embassy was there personally to welcome the guests. He also welcomed Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the stall and offered him Saudi dates.

The bazaar brought together a vast mix of cultural diversity from different countries.

First Lady, Samina Alvi inaugurated the charity bazar at the premises of Foreign Affairs Ministry, where stalls showcased traditional artefacts of countries including China, Tajikistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Russia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Egypt, Iran, Japan, Maldives, Central Asian states, Malaysia, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also made special appearance and visited various stalls. He mixed up with people and spent some time with them.

Earlier, Begum Alvi in her address said it was heartening that the charity bazaar was presenting a bouquet of culture, art and cuisine with an essence of harmony and affinity among different nations.

She lauded Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the diplomatic community in Islamabad to team up for a noble cause of philanthropy.

She also shared her philanthropic work including providing education to street children, women empowerment, distribution of ration and clean drinking water to underprivileged Muslims and minorities, and arranging cataract surgeries.

She added that the PFOWA charity Bazaar was a good opportunity for diplomats from different countries to learn about each other’s cultures. Flanked by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, the First Lady also visited different stalls set up at the bazaar.

Chinese Deputy Head of Mission Lijian Zhao donated Rs one million to PFOWA on behalf on the embassy of China. Earlier, President PFOWA Anila Hassan in her welcome address said the theme of bazar ‘Celebration of diversity’ was apt at times when the world was facing the issues of tolerance and discrimination on the basis of race, colour, caste and creed.

Patron PFOWA Mehreen Qureshi said the Association was adhering to its mission of philanthropy since 1947 to reach out to low-income families in diplomatic corps.

A ‘Parade of nations’ was held where children of diplomatic staffers, donning cultural dresses of their respective countries, presented tableaus and waved their respective national flags The PFOWA bazaar also provided the visitors an opportunity to indulge their taste buds into dining experience of a variety of cuisines from different countries.

The Charity Bazzar was organized by the Pakistan Foreign Office Womens Association (PFOWA).=DNA