BEIJING: The National Day of Pakistan was celebrated with national spirit and great fervor at the Embassy of Pakistan, Beijing in a ceremony to mark the passing of the Pakistan Resolution on 23rd March, 1940. The ceremony commenced with the recitation of verses from Holy Quran. Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque raised the national flag and hoisted it to summit the masts, with the invigorating tune of the national anthem. Deputy Head of Mission, Ahmed Farooq read out messages of President Dr. Arif Alvi and Prime Minister, Imran Khan. Addressing the audience, Ambassador Haque said that 82 years ago, father of nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah presented the demand of an independent Muslim state in the subcontinent. And with the support of the millions of Muslims of the subcontinent, the dream of independence was translated into a reality on 14 August 1947. “This year’s Pakistan day coincided with the 75th anniversary of independence of homeland. So as we look back on the seven decades of a very important history of our nation, we have achieved many things for which we should be proud of and we should be acknowledged and appreciated”. Ambassador Haque remarked that today, Pakistan was the fifth largest nation with 220 million proud, hardworking, and talented people. “We have a functional democracy with strong political and civilian institutions. We have strong armed forces which have always demonstrated a high degree of professionalism, courage, valour and sacrifice to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan. Our nation and our people have made unmatched sacrifices to protect our nation and to fight against the evils of extremism, terrorism and separatism. While commenting on Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi ongoing visit to Pakistan, he said that this was the first time that Chinese foreign minister attended OIC FMs meeting, adding, So, it is historic occasion that Pakistan is acting as a bridge between China and the Muslim world. Wang Yi along with other foreign ministers attended Pakistan Day parade. The Chinese made fighter aircraft J-10C first time participated in the flypast which showed the importance of the defense ties between Pakistan and China. Ambassador Haque said that last year was very special during which both Pakistan and China celebrated the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic ties. Both countries organized over 140 events which were unprecedented in the history of Pakistan’s relations with any country. On economic and trade cooperation, he said that China had become Pakistan’s largest trading partner for many years. But last year was very special, because the two countries had unprecedented bilateral trade in terms of Pakistan’s exports to China. He said that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was proceeding very well and it had changed the economic landscape of Pakistan. And now we have entered into the next phase of industrialization, agricultural modernization and IT cooperation. While commenting on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s very successful visit of China last month, he said that PM Khan was here on a solidarity visit to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics. He also held very important meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang and the leadership decided that the two countries had to continue this special and strategic partnership even take it to even higher level and future. He said the two countries had also decided to launch new health, green, digital, trade and industrial corridors to further promote bilateral cooperation. Ambassador Haque expressed the confidence that all initiatives would bring the two people and two governments even closer and closer and make the bilateral relationship even stronger and stronger. He also appreciated the member of the Pakistani community for representing Pakistan while being away from their homes and families. He pointed out a number of initiatives taken for the Pakistani community including Roshan digital account, streamlining of the consular services, online attorneys system and voting to overseas Pakistanis. One minute silence was observed to express grief and sorrow over the loss of lives during two separate tragic incidents of plane crash in South China and a training aircraft crash in Pakistan respectively. Students from Pakistan Embassy College, Beijing presented national songs. The ceremony was attended by senior officials, students and the Pakistani community in China. Similar flag hoisting ceremonies were also held at Pakistani Consulates in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai.