The huge Pakistani community living in Saudi Arabia celebrated their country’s 68th Independence Day on Thursday with traditional zeal and great fervor throughout the Kingdom.

The grand celebration kicked off with flag-hoisting ceremonies held simultaneously at the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh and at the residence of Pakistan Consul-General Aftab Ahmad Khokher.

Members of the Pakistani community, consulate officials and members of the Pakistan International School of Jeddah (PISJ) turned up in large numbers to attend the celebration in Jeddah.

Khokher performed the national flag-hoisting ceremony amid a standing ovation from the audience.

Independence day messages from President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif were read out, while national songs were sung by PISJ students to the jubilation of attendees.

The consul-general highlighted the importance of the day.

“Pakistan is the identity we earned through immense sacrifice,” he said. Khokher urged community members to be united in their ranks and work collectively to achieve the ideals laid down by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah for a peaceful, strong and prosperous Pakistan.

Pakistani expats also celebrated the occasion in other cities of the Kingdom and various functions were held in Riyadh and Dammam.

Khayyam Akbar, chargé d’affaires at the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh, also read out messages from President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at a packed ceremony.

“This is the day to redeem our pledge to build a Pakistan envisaged by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah,” the message said.

The Pakistani prime minister called on nationals to stand firm and united and work diligently for a progressive, prosperous and peaceful Pakistan.

“Let us pledge today that we will continue to uphold the banners of democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law and let us reiterate our commitment to follow the principles of unity, faith and discipline as our strength and guide toward reaching our ultimate goal.”

“August 14th refreshes our memories of the heroic struggle of the Muslims of the sub-continent for a separate homeland,” said Akbar, who also highlighted various steps taken by the embassy to facilitate Pakistani community members processing their official documents.

“The embassy is now entertaining more than 700 machine-readable passport applications despite limited resources,” he said.

Abbas Sarwar Qureshi, head of the chancery, thanked the Pakistani community for their high turnout at the end of the ceremony in Riyadh.