India and Pakistan won freedom from the British colonial rule in August 1947. Pakistan celebrates its Independence Day anniversary today (on August 14), while India marks it a day later. Let’s look at the media reports of celebrations in Pakistan.
Pakistani leaders called for peaceful relations with India and announced new rights for tribesmen (in the militant-infested area) along the border with Afghanistan, reports Voice of America.
“In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said Pakistan wants peace with all of its neighbors, and he expressed hope that talks with India will progress. He also reiterated the government’s resolve to defeat terrorism.
“On the eve of the Independence Day celebrations, President Asif Ali Zardari announced the government was lifting a ban on political activity in Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
“The change is the first major break with the system Pakistan inherited from Britain, which ruled the region until the country gained independence in 1947.
“Mr. Zardari also called on the people to adhere to principles of democracy and human rights, and to defeat dictatorship and extremism to help provide economic opportunities in the country.
“Also Thursday, Pakistani Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani told the Pakistan Military Academy Kakul that Islam will always be the ‘soul and spirit’ of Pakistan. But he criticized terrorists, saying they try to impose their ‘narrow and distorted’ version of Islam by force.”
Writing in Pakistan’s Daily Times, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister, squarely blamed the military dictators who had weakened political process and added to instability of the country.
“Then came military regimes of Gen Ayub Khan, Gen Yahya Khan, Gen Ziaul Haq and Gen Pervez Musharraf and they consumed 33 of the 63 years of the national life leaving behind a trail of tragic events including the fall of Dhaka, introduction of drugs (heroin) and Kalashnikov culture and the rise of terrorism and extremism on the heels of sectarian violence.”
According to Pakistan’s Dawn, President Asif Ali Zardari announced major legal and political reforms in the tribal areas to extricate them from a century of bondage and subservience and usher them into the mainstream of national life, describing it as a gift to the nation and the tribal people on the nation’s 62nd Independence Day.
“The tribesmen were subject to the whims of administration officials as people were arrested and kept in jail for years without trial under the FCR. A person could be sent to jail for three years without trial. The jail term could be extended indefinitely.
“Under the territorial responsibility clause, women and children were being jailed.
“The administration will have no arbitrary powers of arrest as checks have been placed on them. The accused shall be brought before the authority concerned within 24 hours of arrest. They will have the right to bail.
“Women and children below 16 years of age shall not be arrested under the Collective Responsibility Clause of the FCR.
“President Zardari said Pakistan was created through a democratic struggle and it would be made strong and prosperous through democracy.
” ‘As we celebrate we should also pause and reflect whether and where we are going. Unfortunately, over the years as democracy was trampled, an extremist mindset was allowed to grow’.”
Writing in the Gulf News, India’s senior journalist Kuldip Nayar says: “India and Pakistan will celebrate their 62nd year of independence. Both should use the occasion to consider where their relations are heading. Both are moving relentlessly towards a point where, even if there is no conflict, there will be no settlement.” More here…
Indian and Pakistani border guards stationed at the Wagah border checkpost exchanged sweets and congratulated each other on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of Pakistan’s Independence Day on Friday, reports a website.
Writes Mian Usman in Pakistan Spectator: “Are we an independent state whose state of affairs are being dictated by the west and our leaders for own good always keep our welfare and dignity as a secondary matter as the prime importance for them is their own well being and people around them which includes key party leaders and their own family.” More here….
Pakistan’s well-known journalist Irfan Ahmed writes: “Despite the problems Pakistan is going through, in my opinion the country is still strong and will most likely continue to stay strong because of the hard working people.
“With the number of hard working people decreasing the country is having problems but I don’t think these problems will become a part of Pakistan.
“The future of Pakistan is only going to be bright if they find a political party that actually wants to do good for the people of Pakistan, and doesn’t want to benefit itself by earning money whilst in government and then making a quick escape.”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.