Political parties begin ceremonies

Nawaz Sharif to give speech at Hazoori Bagh today.

LAHORE:

Political parties began celebrating Pakistan’s 64th Independence Day last night with parties and various ceremonies.

Nawaz Sharif was due to attend a candle-lighting ceremony as chief guest at Minar-i-Pakistan at 10pm on Saturday. PML-Nawaz workers and leaders will light candles as a symbol showing their intention to move the country out of the darkness of inflation, unemployment, power outages and terrorism, said PML-N officials. Sharif will address a public meeting at Hazoori Bagh on Sunday evening.

All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) League, the party of former president Gen (retired) Pervez Musharraf, will celebrate Independence Day, as well as their leader’s birthday (August 11) by cutting a cake at a hotel at midnight, said party leader Javed Badar.

The PML-Quaid will celebrate the day by conducting a flag-hoisting ceremony at Davis Road where Chaudhry Zaheeruddin Khan will be chief guest.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) will hold flag-hoisting ceremonies at its regional and zonal offices, though the party’s energies are mostly devoted these days to a sit-in on Constitution Avenue. Around 200 party activist were reported to have left Lahore for Islamabad to join the sit-in on Saturday.

The Pakistan Peoples Party had planned an Independence Day event for August 12 but had to cancel because of the heavy rain. It is now planning an event after August 15. PPP Punjab President Imtiaz Safdar Warraich will attend independence celebrations at the presidency. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement released a message on Saturday wishing the nation a happy Independence Day.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 14^th, 2011.