Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the Red Fort to deliver his annual August 15 speech, Nawaz Sharif -- until recently his Pakistani counterpart -- cut a cake in a Rawalpindi jail to celebrate his nation's Independence Day.
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| Attendees at a ceremony held to celebrate Pakistan's 71st Independence Day at the mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi, on August 14. |
That's according to report by Dawn, one of Pakistan's leading English dailies. It was the caretaker prime minister, Nasir ul-Mulk, who hoisted the national flag in Islamabad on August 14, alongside Pakistani president Mamnoon Hussain (Sharif was handed a 10-year jail term on July 6 by an anti-corruption court.).
"The economic problems being faced by Pakistan and the complex issues confronting it can only be overcome if we follow the teachings of the Quaid-e-Azam [Muhammad Ali Jinnah] and Allama Iqbal [Muhammad Iqbal] in their true spirit," Hussain said in a message for his compatriots.
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| Hussain and Nasir hoisting the Pakistani national flag in Islamabad. |
There were gun salutes in Pakistan's national and provincial capitals, Dawn reported. "People across the country flocked to stalls that lined up streets to purchase national flags in different sizes, t-shirts, badges and other merchandise to display their national pride", the report said.
"On this Independence Day I am filled with the greatest optimism," said Imran Khan, the former cricket hero widely expected to take over as prime minister.
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| Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the first governor-general of Pakistan, and Liaqat Ali Khan (R), its first prime minister. (Photo: Pakistan's Information Ministry |
"Despite our grave economic crises, due to corruption and cronyism, I know if we are united in our resolve, we will rise to the challenge and Pakistan will become the great nation envisaged by our Quaid [Jinnah] and Iqbal," he tweeted.
Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves have plummeted over the past year and have been kept afloat by lending from China. Its rupee has been devalued four times since December. The finance minister-in-waiting of the incoming government has said Islamabad will decide whether to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (or friendly nations such as China) by the end of September.
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| Soldiers from the Pakistan Navy played the national anthem at the mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. |
But last month's general election brought some good news: It marked a transfer of power between two civilian governments, the second in the country's history.
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