Pakistan marks independence amid growing violence, political tensions

Aug 14, 2008, 14:52 GMT

Islamabad - Pakistan on Thursday celebrated its 61st year of independence from British rule with fireworks, flag-raisings and music despite growing militant violence and mounting tensions between the country's ruling coalition and embattled President Pervez Musharraf.

A 31-gun salute echoed across the capital Islamabad and 21 shots were fired in four provincial capitals at the daybreak.

Military cadets performed a changing of the guard ceremony at the mausoleum of Pakistan's founder and charismatic leader Mohammed Ali Jinnah in the southern port city of Karachi later in the day.

Sirens were blown across the country and all traffic stopped for one minute when Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani hoisted the national flag in the capital at 09.00 am (0300 GMT).

'The era of repression is over. Dictatorship is a thing of the past,' Gilani said apparently referring to Musharraf, who seized power around nine years ago in a bloodless military coup and is set to face an impeachment resolution scheduled to be moved in the parliament by the coalition government next week.

'We will have to move forward where there is no dictatorship but democracy,' added Gilani, in a reminder of the political instability that the country is currently seeing due to the growing tensions between the government and the retired general, who has so far refused to bow down.

The president, who was kept away from the official ceremonies, held a separate cultural show at his official residence on Wednesday night.

Apparently undisturbed by the political tensions, he was in a relaxed mood, puffing a cigar and chewing beetle leaves, he avoided a direct reference to the impeachment in his speech on the occasion, but he called for a reconciliatory approach.

'We should adopt a reconciliatory rather than confrontational approach to bring about stability in the country,' he said.

'Pakistan needs stability to deal with the serious issues of terrorism and a deteriorating economy. The country is passing through the most difficult period of its history,' he added in his first direct remarks since the coalition announced his impeachment.

Musharraf's announced trial has increased political uncertainly in the country which is already reeling under rising Islamic militancy and record-high inflation rate.

It accelerated the meltdown of Pakistani stocks, which fell by five percent only in the last two days and further decreased the value of country's fragile currency, rupee, by more than six percent.

A suicide bomber struck near a police station on late Wednesday when hundreds of people were making preparations for the Independence Day celebrations in a busy market of eastern city of Lahore, leaving eight people, including two law enforcers dead.

Military helicopters and Pakistan Air Force jet fighters on Wednesday pounded the positions of Islamic militants in Bajaur tribal district, where so far hundreds of people, including dozens of troops and civilians, have been killed in the clashes that continued on the country's Independence Day.

Pakistan's tribal districts are believed to have sanctuaries for the Islamic extremist al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters launching cross- border attacks on US-led international forces in Afghanistan.

But the militants also turned against Pakistani security forces last year after a commando action against Islamabad's radical Red Mosque, where more than 100 people died. The actions was responded with a suicide bombing campaign that killed more than 4,000 people in 2007 and early 2008.

The ruling coalition, which took over after defeating Musharraf's political allies in February 18 elections, announced the initiation of peace talks with the militants in the following month.

But this did not yield the required results, prompting the government to go after the rebels in troubled tribal belt as well as in parts of North-West Frontier Province.

As a rejoinder, the local Taliban have vowed to resume retaliatory attacks across the country, but this did not stopped Amjad Hussain (30) from joining thousands of people who filed into the streets of Islamabad to see the yearly firework shows on the main boulevard Constitution Avenue.

'I am not afraid of dying. I have come here to celebrate my homeland's Independence Day. My grandfather and many of his family members gave their lives to win freedom from England, would I be afraid of anyone who threatens this independence,' said Hussain as he waived country's green and white flag.

Political analyst Rasool Bux Raees said the country would continue to experience these sorts of turbulences for some years but it would eventually become a genuine democracy.

Pakistan has about 160 million people.