PESHAWAR: The 128-feet tall minaret is the first thing that comes into view when one arrives close to the street in Peshawar’s main Saddar Bazaar where the majestic Sunehri Masjid is located. 

Known for its considerable size, built over an impressive 18,000 square feet, and Mughal-style architecture, the Sunehri, or Golden, Mosque in the capital of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is one of the most iconic masjids in the region. The mosque can accommodate at least 6,000 worshippers, making it ideal for the month of Ramadan when believers flock to mosques for Tarawih — special, voluntary prayers performed typically after the Isha night prayer and considered a highly recommended Sunnah, or practice of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

The foundation stone of the mosque was laid by Habib Ur Rehman, a Peshawar resident, in 1946 but construction work experienced delays due unavailability of funds and security issues and was completed in 1992, primarily funded by public donations. 

Rehman modeled the mosque after Lahore’s iconic Badshahi Mosque built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the prayer leader at Sunehri Masjid, Maulana Muhammad Ismail, told Arab News. 

“The foundation stone of our mosque was laid in 1946, but the situation deteriorated in Pakistan due to the wars [of 1965 and 1971], so work was stopped for a little time,” he said. 

Explaining the architecture, Ismail said the central minaret, a hallmark of the mosque, was built at 128 feet so it could be visible even from far-flung areas in Peshawar at a time when there were few tall buildings in the city.

“The need for the construction of the 128-feet-high minaret at that time was that our organizers thought that the azaan [call to prayer] of the Sunehri Masjid should reach far-flung areas,” Ismail said.

The mosque is built with red bricks and famed for its signature white domes and intricate Mughal-style architecture that features arches and pointed cupolas atop the minarets.

In Ramadan, more worshippers than usual throng to the Sunehri Masjid, filling up its halls and prayer rooms as they seek to deepen their connection with Allah, earn rewards, and ask for forgiveness from sins.

Imran Khan, 38, is one such devotee who has been offering prayers at the mosque for the past 12 years.

“This is a beautiful mosque, I come here every Ramadan to worship and recite [the Qur’an],” Khan told Arab News. “I especially visit a lot in Ramadan when I get the chance.”

Khawar Rehman, a Peshawar resident who had come for Asr prayers at the mosque, said he frequented the place as he liked worshiping at a “famous mosque” like the Sunehri Masjid. 

“This mosque has larger congregations and better rewards,” he said, “so I like to come here.”

BOAO, China: Pakistan and China’s discussions about security measures to protect Chinese nationals working in the South Asian country are a work in progress, Islamabad’s ambassador to Beijing said on Wednesday.
Chinese nationals have been in the crosshairs of separatist militants who believe Beijing is helping Pakistan exploit minerals in the underdeveloped southwestern province of Balochistan, where China has a strategic port and mining interests.
It is Pakistan’s “national responsibility” and the country is “doing everything possible,” Ambassador Khalil Hashmi told reporters at the sidelines of the Boao Forum in China’s Hainan province.
“I think our two countries work very closely in terms of information sharing, in terms of developing the standard operating procedures” to ensure Chinese nationals working in Pakistan are safe, he said.
“We keep our Chinese friends informed of the steps that we are taking, so it’s a work in progress.”
Beijing has been pushing Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens working there, frustrated by the string of attacks on its citizens.
The push came after a bombing at the Karachi airport last October killed two Chinese engineers who were returning there to work at a power plant.
Hashmi said those talks are ongoing, with a high degree of trust between both countries.
“It’s a complex security environment,” he said. “We have the capability to resolve, to counter and combat and defeat these terrorist forces.”