Pakistan
In Pakistan, almost everybody stops to rejoice for a few minutes following the iftar sirens and adhan (azan) (call to prayer). Preparations for iftar commence about 3 hours before, in homes and at roadside stalls. The fast can be broken by eating dates or drinking water, if the former is not available. Many restaurants offer iftar deals specially in the big cities like Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. As a meal in Pakistan, iftar is usually heavy, consisting mainly of sweet and savoury treats such as jalebi, samosas, pakora with ketchup or chatni and namak para, besides the staple dates and water. Rooh Afza, a sweet syrup-based drink, is also considered an integral part of the iftar in Pakistan, sometimes replacing water.
Other items such as chicken rolls, spring rolls, Shami Kebabs, and fruit salads, papad, chana chaat, dahi balay are also very common. Amongst the Punjabi, Sindhi and Mohajir households, iftar is often, but not necessarily, followed up by a regular dinner later during the night. Those in the north and west, including Pashtuns, Balochis and Tajiks on the other hand combine dinner and iftar. Laghman soup, locally called Kalli, is an iftar staple in Chitral and parts of Gilgit.
After iftar, the mosques are rushed with Muslims to offer Tarawih (an 8 or 20 rakat Muslim prayer during the month of Ramadan). Various television channels also stop their normal telecast and broadcast special Ramadan transmissions, especially at the time of Sehar and Iftar. The whole month of Ramadan is marked in Pakistan as a festive season when people make donations to the poor and give charity. Some organizations or companies also offer free iftar means to the common people.
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