Pakistan yesterday celebrated its 61st independence day with traditional flag-hoisting ceremonies and fireworks despite growing militant unrest and deadly bombings.
People carrying green and white flags took to the roads on foot and in motorcycles and cars late on Wednesday to see decorative lights put up at public and private buildings amid the deafening noise of firecrackers.
The celebrations continued amid ongoing unrest in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan — where 35 people were slain on Wednesday — and the killing of seven people in a suicide blast in Lahore.
Sirens blared and all traffic halted for one minute as Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani hoisted the national flag in Islamabad at 9am.
Gilani said the government was “committed to bringing relief to the common man, to steer Pakistan out of the current political, economic situation.”
Pakistan is suffering from record inflation because of global surges in the price of fuel and wheat flour, and is suffering a severe electricity shortage.
Gilani vowed to fight the threats of domestic extremism and terrorism, and to forge friendly ties with nuclear-armed rival India, with whom Pakistan has fought three wars but has engaged in peace talks since 2004.
Beleaguered Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who is facing the threat of impeachment by the ruling coalition, celebrated the anniversary with his allies.
“The objectives of [the] creation of Pakistan can never be achieved unless we eradicate the evils of terrorism, extremism and intolerance from our society,” Musharraf said in his independence day message.
“Tolerance and forbearance are not only the pre-requisites for the successful working of democracy; but also the cardinal principles of a just Islamic social order,” he said.
Addressing a ceremony overnight, Musharraf called for political reconciliation in Pakistan, in an apparent appeal to opponents who are gearing up their impeachment bid.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese