Pakistan is celebrating its Independence Day today with patriotic zeal and fervor. The day began with special prayers for peace and progress in the country, and a 31-gun salute in the federal capital, Islamabad.
Early in the morning, the national flag was hoisted at all important public and private buildings. The day-long festivities include special seminars, documentaries, music and painting exhibitions.
The nation also paid homage and respect to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, by visiting his mausoleum in Karachi.
To spice up the festivities, vendors have set up stalls across the country to sell the country’s green and white flags, shirts, badges and balloons. The young and elderly alike are buying these things to show their patriotism.
“We are excited to celebrate our independence day and hope the incoming government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will do something extraordinary to make us a proud nation,” Zulfiqar Ali, 53, told Arab News while buying national flags from a stall in Islamabad.
He said Pakistan’s forefathers sacrificed their lives for a “great mission of independence from British rule” and it is now time to work hard to make it more strong and invincible.
Shazia Qambar, a teacher in an upscale area of the federal capital who is illuminating classrooms with national flags and posters with messages about the importance of independence, said schools try each year to educate their students through fun and games about significance of the independence day.
“This year we are arranging a national songs competition among our students on the school’s premises, besides screening some documentaries about the struggle of our ancestors to get the separate homeland,” she told Arab News.
On Independence Day, all important public and private buildings in Islamabad and all four provincial capitals are also illuminated in different colors and lights.
Pakistan’s Parliament is also being illuminated to mark the country’s 71st year of independence, where 329 newly elected lawmakers took the oath of their office on Monday and vowed to work for the betterment of the country.
“This day reminds us the unforgettable struggle and sacrifices made by our forefathers for next generations to live in freedom,” outgoing Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said after administering the oath to the legislators.
He said that this is a proud day for the Pakistani nation that is celebrated with great devotion and enthusiasm. “Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah entrusted us with a sacred trust to transform Pakistan into a citadel of peace and a model for all other nations,” he said.
“We should rethink our plans, our actions and their outcomes for forging synergies in the best interest of our country and raising Pakistan to new heights of development,” he added.
Intellectuals and political analysts opine that Pakistan can emerge as a developed nation on the world map only if all the countrymen work together for the development of the downtrodden and poor.
“The key to progress of any country is quality education and rule of law,” Professor Tahir Malik, political analyst and academic, told Arab News.
He said the incoming government should utilize all available resources on human development and promotion of science and technology to turn Pakistan into a knowledge economy.
“On this important day, we should also commemorate the sacrifices of our valiant soldiers and countrymen who laid down their lives to defend the motherland,” he added.
Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, political analyst, said that Pakistan enjoys a unique geographical location in the region and has played a positive role in peace and stability of the world.
“The entire nation is now looking up to the forthcoming democratic government for political and economic prosperity in the country,” he told Arab News, “We should also pledge on this independence day to fight social evils prevailing in the country.”
Pakistan celebrates 71st Independence Day with zeal and fervor
Pakistan celebrates 71st Independence Day with zeal and fervor
- The day was marked by a 31-gun salute in the federal capital with special prayers for peace and progress in the country
- National flag is hoisted at all important public and private buildings across the country
Australia to toughen gun laws as it mourns deadly Bondi attack
- Footage showed one man, identified by local media as fruit seller Ahmed al Ahmed, grabbing one of the gunmen as he fired
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened a meeting of leaders of Australia’s states and territories in response on Monday, agreeing with them “to strengthen gun laws across the nation”
SYDNEY: Australia’s leaders have agreed to toughen gun laws after attackers killed 15 people at a Jewish festival on Bondi Beach, the worst mass shooting in decades decried as antisemitic “terrorism” by authorities.
Dozens fled in panic as a father and son fired into crowds packing the Sydney beach for the start of Hanukkah on Sunday evening.
A 10-year-old girl, a Holocaust survivor and a local rabbi were among those killed, while 42 others were rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds and other injuries.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened a meeting of leaders of Australia’s states and territories in response on Monday, agreeing with them “to strengthen gun laws across the nation.”
Albanese’s office said they agreed to explore ways to improve background checks for firearm owners, bar non-nationals from obtaining gun licenses and limit the types of weapons that are legal.
Mass shootings have been rare in Australia since a lone gunman killed 35 people in the town of Port Arthur in 1996, which led to sweeping reforms long seen as a gold standard worldwide.
Those included a gun buyback scheme, a national firearms register and a crackdown on ownership of semi-automatic weapons.
But Sunday’s shooting has raised fresh questions about how the two suspects — who public broadcaster ABC reported had possible links to the Daesh group — obtained the guns.
- ‘An act of pure evil’ -
Police are still unraveling what drove Sunday’s attack, although authorities have said it targeted Jews.
Albanese called it “an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores.”
A string of antisemitic attacks has spread fear among Australia’s Jewish communities after the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.
The Australian government this year accused Iran of orchestrating a recent wave of antisemitic attacks and expelled Tehran’s ambassador nearly four months ago.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Australia’s government of “pouring oil on the fire of antisemitism” in the months before the shooting, referring to Canberra’s announcement that it would recognize Palestinian statehood in August.
Other world leaders expressed revulsion, with US President Donald Trump condemning the “antisemitic attack.”
The gunmen opened fire on an annual celebration that drew more than 1,000 people to the beach to mark Hanukkah.
They took aim from a raised boardwalk at a beach packed with swimmers cooling off on the steamy summer evening.
Witness Beatrice was celebrating her birthday and had just blown out the candles when the shooting started.
“We thought it was fireworks,” she told AFP. “We’re just feeling lucky we’re all safe.”
Carrying long-barrelled guns, they peppered the beach with bullets for 10 minutes before police shot and killed the 50-year-old father.
The 24-year-old son was arrested and remains under guard in hospital with serious injuries.
Australian media named the suspects as Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram.
Tony Burke, the home affairs minister, said the father arrived in Australia on a student visa in 1998 and had become a permanent resident. The son was an Australia-born citizen.
Hours after the shooting, police found a homemade bomb in a car parked close to the beach, saying the “improvised explosive device” had likely been planted by the pair.
Rabbi Mendel Kastel said his brother-in-law was among the dead.
“We need to hold strong. This is not the Australia that we know. This is not the Australia that we want.”
Wary of reprisals, police have so far avoided questions about the attackers’ religion or ideological motivations.
Misinformation spread quickly online after the attacks, some of it targeting immigrants and the Muslim community.
Police said they responded to reports on Monday of several pig heads left at a Muslim cemetery in southwestern Sydney.
- Panic and bravery -
A brave few dashed toward the beach as the shooting unfolded, wading through fleeing crowds to rescue children, treat the injured and confront the gunmen.
Footage showed one man, identified by local media as fruit seller Ahmed al Ahmed, grabbing one of the gunmen as he fired.
The 43-year-old wrestled the gun out of the attacker’s hands, before pointing the weapon at him as he backed away.
A team of off-duty lifeguards sprinted across the sand to drag children to safety.
“The team ran out under fire to try and clear children from the playground while the gunmen were firing,” said Steven Pearce from Surf Life Saving New South Wales.
Bleeding victims were carried across the beach atop surfboards turned into makeshift stretchers.
On Monday evening, a flower memorial next to Bondi Beach swelled in size as mourners gathered.
Hundreds, including members of the Jewish community, sang songs, clapped and held each other.
Leading a ceremony to light a menorah candle, a rabbi told the crowd: “The only strength we have is if we bring light into the world.”
