PESHAWAR: Christians from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) will not be able to attend the annual Christmas dinner at the President House scheduled for Monday.

The tightly knit, small Christian community in the tribal areas has been silently protesting against the decision of the President House for not sending invitations with some even contacting government officials over the apparent snub but to no avail.

Wilson Wazir, who was appointed as one of the first minority Maliks (tribal elder) earlier in June this year, told media that it was for the first time in more than a decade that the Christians from Fata were not invited for the official dinner.

“It gives the community a feeling of being outcasts. I have attended 12 Christmas dinners over the years but this time we have been left out,” he lamented.

At least two other elders from the community also claimed they had not been invited for the event. When they asked for the official reason, they were told that they had not been given security clearance.

Wazir appealed to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi to intervene and help the community to feel more at home.