Dubai: Pakistanis in the UAE celebrated the 78th Pakistan National Day on Friday with patriotic speeches and festivities.
The occasion is celebrated on March 23 every year to mark the Lahore Resolution, also known as the Pakistan Resolution, which was passed on March 23, 1940. The event is regarded as a watershed moment in the struggle for an independent state, which later was named Pakistan.
At a meeting on the day, Muslims of the Indian subcontinent — then under British rule — formally demanded a separate homeland for themselves.
On Friday, Pakistani diplomats at Pakistani missions in the UAE addressed large gatherings of Pakistanis from all walks of life. The Pakistani flag was hoisted and people enjoyed festivities and refreshments.
In Abu Dhabi, at the Embassy of Pakistan, Moazzam Ahmad Khan, Ambassador of Pakistan to the UAE, hoisted the Pakistani flag. National Day messages of the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan were read out; students from Pakistani schools sang national songs.
Khan, in his message to mark the occasion, congratulated the Pakistani community living in the UAE, the second biggest group of expats in the country. An estimated 1.5 million Pakistanis live and work in the UAE. Khan said on the day of the Lahore Resolution, the Muslims of the subcontinent resolved to achieve a separate homeland in order to lead their lives with dignity, honour and freedom.
He recalled the challenges confronted by Pakistan since its inception which, he said, were met through national resolve, resilience and commitment by the Pakistani nation.
The ambassador also thanked the “friends of Pakistan”, in particular the UAE, which he said has always stood by Pakistan in difficult times and contributed to its development. Khan paid special tributes to the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founder of the UAE, who used to call Pakistan his second home.
The ambassador said the “sapling of friendship” planted by Shaikh Zayed and the Pakistani leadership has grown into a tall tree.
As a special gesture, a military contingent of the UAE participated in the Pakistan National Day parade in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, for the first time.
In the UAE, another ceremony was held at Consulate General of Pakistan in Dubai. Consul-General Brigadier (retired) Syed Javed Hassan hoisted the Pakistani flag and addressed the gathering. He paid tributes to Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, saying the Lahore Resolution led by him led to the creation of Pakistan seven years later, in 1947.
Hassan said Pakistan’s unity was based on three main pillars: the national language of Urdu, the Pakistani armed forces comprising Pakistanis from all provinces, and Islam.
“We must elevate the standing of Pakistan among the foremost nations of the world. The most effective and essential means to achieve that goal is education,” Hassan said.
At the event, Dr Faisal Ikram, president of Pakistan Association Dubai, told Gulf News that Pakistan had “started off at a very weak footing after the partition [of India and Pakistan] … but despite all the odds, we have emerged as a very powerful nation”.
Dr Ikram added: “As the Government of Pakistan has declared 2018 as the year of ‘Emerging Pakistan’, we will definitely emerge as very strong ... I think the recent economic developments and the foreign investment that is coming into Pakistan will take Pakistan to a new level.”
Asjad Imran, 31, a Pakistani expat in Dubai, agreed with Hassan that education is key to Pakistan’s progress.
“And the key to education are teachers. We have good teachers in our country, they should help other teachers who are not doing so well,” Imran said.
Pakistani associations in the UAE also held similar celebrations. At Pakistan Association Dubai, celebrations continue with the ‘Shukriya Pakistan’ (Thank You, Pakistan) festival till Sunday.
