Patriotism marks I-Day celebrations
islamabad — Pakistan on Monday celebrated 70 years of independence from British India with a patriotic display including a giant flag and a show of airpower, as the military’s top brass vowed to wipe out terrorists days after a deadly blast.
Celebrations began at the stroke of midnight with firework shows in major cities.
At the highly symbolic Wagah eastern border crossing with India, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa raised a massive national flag on a 400 foot (122-metre) pole as crowds chanted patriotic slogans.
Following the chest-thumping performance Bajwa said the country was making progress and promised to “go after each and every terrorist in Pakistan”.
“We have made a few mistakes in the past, but we are on the road to development under the guidance of our constitution,” he added.
Addressing the participants of the Air Show organised by the Pakistan Air Force, President Mamnoon Hussain said in Islamabad the undeterred resolve of the people and security forces has brought Pakistan closer to success which would bring stability and prosperity, not only in the country but the whole region.
The president said the whole Pakistani nation was united as a strong force for country’s defence.
The president greeted the whole nation, the brave soldiers of armed forces, particularly the Pakistan Air Force on Independence Day.
In Islamabad his newly-elected successor Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, along with top generals and foreign dignitaries, presided over a 31-gun salute and flag-raising ceremony to mark the holiday.
“The independence that we got 70 years ago was the fruit of the exemplary struggle of our ancestors,” said Abbasi in an address to the nation.
“Thousands of Muslims have made sacrifices for our future and the future of our children.”
Abbasi blamed India for the impasse in bilateral ties, saying New Delhi’s “expansionist designs” was the “main hurdle” in constructive relations between the two neighbours.
He said Pakistan “desires positive and constructive” relations with all countries based on sovereign equality.
“Our government has invariably made efforts to initiate the process of meaningful dialogue and adoption of peaceful means to resolve the issues but unfortunately the expansionist designs of India have remained the main hurdle in this regard,” he said as Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang attended the celebrations as a “special guest” of the country.
Further south in Karachi the day began with a changing of the guard at the mausoleum of the country’s founder Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah, where politicians and military commanders laid floral wreaths.
The skies above the capital were later streaked with multicoloured smoke as the air force hosted Pakistan’s largest air show to date.
Fighter jets criss-crossed over the leafy capital in aerobatic manoeuvres as thousands packed shoulder-to-shoulder applauded from a park below. Planes from close allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey also took part.
In Lahore, students cruised through the eastern city’s streets on motorbikes waving flags and screaming “Long live Pakistan!”
Up north in the Swat valley near the restive border with Afghanistan celebrations were more subdued, with events at schools cancelled due to “prevailing law and order” issues.
In nearby Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Christians held special services at a church and freed doves to mark the holiday. “Four years back my father and brother died in this church in a suicide attack, but I am still here praying for my beloved country,” schoolteacher Neelam Anwar said. —