JEDDAH, 15 August 2004 — Pakistani expatriates throughout the Kingdom yesterday celebrated their country’s Independence Day with great fervor.
Various functions were held in Asir, Tabuk, Makkah, Yunbu, Abha and Madinah regions. Posters and material related to Pakistan’s freedom movement, economy and tourism were displayed in all the major hotels of Jeddah.
The day began with traditional flag hoisting ceremonies held simultaneously at the Embassy of Pakistan in Riyadh and the Consulate General in Jeddah. G. Farid Farrukh, charge d’affaires at the embassy, unfurled the national flag at a ceremony held in the chancery. Farrukh read out messages of President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shujaat Hussain.
The messages said “Aug. 14 not only refreshes our memories of the heroic struggle of Muslims of the subcontinent for a separate homeland but also provides an occasion of self accountability, to look into our hearts and ask ourselves as to whether we have fulfilled the pledges we had made at the time of the creation of Pakistan.”
In Jeddah, the day began with a flag hoisting ceremony held at the consulate premises. Acting Consul General Syed Hassan Raza hoisted the flag and read the messages of the president and prime minister.
