Independence Day (Pakistan) - Celebration

Celebration

Girls lighting candles at midnight to celebrate the day The Minar-e-Pakistan fully lit to commemorate the independence

The independence day is one of the six public holidays observed in Pakistan and is celebrated all over the country. To prepare and finalise the plans for independence day celebrations, meetings are held in the provincial capitals by local government which are attended by government officials, diplomats, and politicians. As the month of August begins, special stalls and shops are set up across the country for the sale of national flags, buntings, banners and posters, pictures of national heroes, and other celebratory items. Vehicles, private buildings, homes, and streets are decorated with the national flag and buntings. Various organisations, educational institution, and government departments organise seminars, sports competitions, and social and cultural activities leading up to the independence day. In Karachi, drives are initiated to clean and prepare the Mazar-e-Quaid (Jinnah Mausoleum) for the celebration.

The day begins with special prayers for integrity, solidarity, and development of Pakistan in mosques and religious places across the country. The official festivities take place in Islamabad and commence with the raising of the national flag on the Parliament House and the Presidency followed by a 31-gun salute in the capital and a 21-gun salute in provincial capitals. The President and Prime Minister of Pakistan address the nation in live telecasts. Government officials and other political leaders deliver speeches during various rallies and events highlighting Pakistani achievements, goals set for the future, and praise the sacrifices and efforts of national heroes. National flags are displayed on Shahrah-e-Faisal, Shahara-e-Quaideen, and Mazar-e-Quaid Road leading up to the Jinnah's mausoleum in Karachi. Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore, where Pakistan Resolution was passed in 1940, is fully illuminated on the eve of the independence day to signify its importance in the creation of Pakistan.

Citizens attending independence day parades and other events are usually dressed in Pakistan’s official colours, green and white. Various government buildings including the Parliament House, Supreme Court, and President House are decorated and illuminated with lights and bright colours. Streets and houses are decorated with candles, oil lamps and pennants, national flag as well as firework shows occur as a part of celebration. Along with flag hoisting, the national anthem is sung at various government places, schools, residences, and monuments on the day. Homage is paid to the people who lost their lives in migration and riots during the partition, martyrs of Pakistan Army and recipients of Nishan-e-Haider, political figures, and famous artists and scientists.

A change of guard takes place at national monuments. In the cities around the country, the flag hoisting ceremony is carried out by the nazim (mayor) belonging to the respective constituency and at various private organisations the ceremony is conducted by a senior officer of that organisation. The Pakistani diaspora also celebrates independence day in various countries throughout the world, especially in countries which have large Pakistani communities.

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