ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani expatriate living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has commemorated the South Asian country’s 77th Independence Day by unfurling the iconic green-and-white flag underwater in the Arabian Sea.
Khawar Iqbal, 43, who hails from Karachi, has been working as a bank manager in Dubai for the past 24 years.
In a tribute to his homeland, he dove underneath the sea’s surface and successfully waved the Pakistani flag in the waters of the Arabian Sea on August 11. Iqbal had raised the Pakistani flag on a flyboard for Independence Day last year and wanted to do something distinct this year.
“Thankfully, I managed it as we went 25 feet deep underwater, specifically under Dera Islands, and I raised both the UAE and Pakistani flags simultaneously,” Iqbal told Arab News in a telephone interview.
“This gesture was a sign of respect to the UAE, where I grew up, and to Pakistan, my homeland.”
It took Iqbal more than a month to prepare for the feat, particularly to overcome the fear of having to breathe underwater.
“I thought about it initially with a little concern as this is an activity I had never tried before,” he said. “Our training regimen included classroom sessions, shallow water exercises, pool training, and eventually deep-sea training.”
But the effort, solely aimed at paying a tribute to Pakistan, was worth it, and gave the expat a chance to say an “underwater prayer” for Pakistan’s prosperity and present a salute to the nation’s martyrs.
“I decided to unfurl the flag of my country beneath the sea as a tribute to Pakistan,” he said, “and a salute to all the martyrs who secured our independent homeland.”
