Pakistan's capital city Islamabad is witnessing a high demand for slaughtering and cooking equipment ahead of the Eid-ul-Azah festival beginning Oct 15 as a large number of animals are sacrificed on the occasion.
The city's blacksmiths are doing brisk business with hundreds of knives of all shapes and sizes being sharpened at these shops.
There is "an unprecedented surge in the twin cities in view of the forthcoming Eid-ul-Azah" festival as people prepare for Eid by buying crockery, knives and having their old knives sharpened, the Daily Times paper reported Saturday.
The street vendors are also selling a variety of slaughtering tools. Some vendors are going around the city with knife-sharpening equipment.
Sohail Ahmed, a mobile blacksmith, said it was the time of the year when he makes a tidy amount of money by sharpening knives. "I work on 200 knives daily and this number may increase to about 800 now."
Street vendors and stall-owners are charging double prices for everything, rued a shopper, adding that hiring a butcher is also difficult these days.
According to Islamic teaching, this festival is a time for Muslims to learn the value of self-denial by making a sacrifice of something living to God.
The festival is celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honour the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his first born son Isma'il as an act of submission to God's command and his son's acceptance to being sacrificed.