ISLAMABAD/KARACHI, 15 August 2006 — Pakistan celebrated its 60th Independence Day amid tight security to avoid any unpleasant incident. The day began with a 31-gun salute in the federal capital and 21-gun salute in the provincial capitals. Special prayers were offered in mosques after Fajr prayers for the country’s prosperity and progress.
Flag hoisting ceremonies were held at federal and provincial capitals. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz hoisted the national flag at an impressive ceremony at the Convention Center in Islamabad. All government, semi-government and private buildings, roads, shops as well as houses were colorfully decorated with national flags and banners. Various programs, including rallies, processions and the colorful functions under the aegis of various social and political organizations were held in all the cities of the country. In all the provincial capitals security was tightened to avoid any untoward incidents.
The change of guards’ ceremony was held at Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi early yesterday.
Earlier, authorities had tightened security yesterday for the Independence Day amid an ongoing probe into an alleged plot to blow up airliners flying from Britain.
Thousands of extra police were deployed in the tightly-guarded capital, the sprawling southern metropolis of Karachi and the eastern city of Lahore, security officials said.
“We are on heightened alert although there is no specific threat,” a senior official said.
Aziz said Pakistan, which became independent from Britain and split with India in 1947, now had a “vital role in the international war against terrorism.”
The Muslim world faced a “big challenge” from terrorism and measures had been taken to meet it, state media reported him as saying at a flag-raising ceremony in Islamabad.
President Pervez Musharraf said in a speech late Sunday that Pakistan did not threaten other countries but would not accept any threats itself.
“We are a strong nation and nobody dares threaten or coerce us,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan quoted him as saying.
In apparent reference to militants who have carried out frequent attacks and tried to assassinate him three times, Musharraf urged Pakistanis to “actively counter those who may try to bring a bad name” to the country.
Pakistan stepped up general security last week after British police said on Thursday that they had busted an alleged conspiracy to bomb transatlantic passenger jets and arrested 24 people.
The worldwide investigation into the terror scheme turned toward Pakistan after Islamabad said it had arrested a British Al-Qaeda suspect named Rashid Rauf in early August.
Security officials said Rauf provided breakthrough leads that allowed Britain to smash the plot, adding that the planners had connections with Al-Qaeda in neighboring Afghanistan.
Aziz in his speech said Pakistan would “continue to play its role in bringing peace, stability and democracy” to Afghanistan, where Taleban rebels have stepped up an insurgency.
Two people were killed and three were wounded yesterday when a bomb attached to a bicycle exploded next to a store selling miniature flags for Independence Day in Hub, a town in southwestern Balochistan province.
Tribal insurgents in Balochistan have waged a two-year insurgency to win more autonomy from the government and a share of the region’s resources.
