On the occasion of the National Day of Pakistan, the celebration was held and the speech was delivered by H E Pakistani Ambassador, Arif Mahmood, which we give you in whole.
“In The Name of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
It is indeed a great privilege and honour for us that you have joined here this evening to participate in the celebration of our national day. Please accept our warmest greetings and profound thanks.
Honourable Guests!
We are gathered here to commemorate the historic Pakistan Resolution adopted on 23 March 1940 in Lahore, where the Muslims of the then India decided to have a homeland in South Asia according to the vision of their great leaders Allama Iqbal and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
In line with the aspirations of nation and dream of founding fathers, various initiatives have been taken by our Government for the socio-economic uplift of the people and for strengthening the democratic institutions in the country.
Most importantly, Pakistani state and society has shown zero tolerance for terrorism and the nation is determined to eradicate it once and for all. Based on this unwavering commitment, decisive operation by our valiant armed forcesis being carried out to exterminate the menace of terrorism.
All these strides seek to realize the cherished vision of peace and prosperity for Pakistan as well as stability in the region and beyond. Furthermore, the Government of Pakistan is making serious efforts for improvement of relations with neighbouring countries. Towards this end, Pakistan supports all efforts for peace, prosperity and stability in Afghanistan. And the Government is also keen for early resumption of structured dialogue with India for peaceful resolution of all issues including the longstanding Kashmir issue. These efforts have received widespread support from within the country as well as global fraternity.
As regards to our relations with my host country Serbia, I feel happy to say that our two countries have always enjoyed good friendly relations and I avail this opportunity to reaffirm to our Serbian friends and leadership that Pakistan side has an abiding interest in further strengthening and enlarging existing relations with Serbia in all fields of mutual interest. Our major focus on deepening of economic and trade relations and to harness the full potential, we continuously need to further reinvigorate our efforts at all levels The emphasis is to build further on commonality of existing interests and to explore new vistas for mutual benefit based on shared vision and convergent goals.
The peoples and leaders in Pakistan have been following the developments in Serbia with keen interest. We fully appreciate stability and maturity of political system, confidence of the people in state institutions and focus on economic development and regional integration. Certainly, these efforts will bring great benefits for Serbia and its neighbours. The sagacity o fpolitical leadership and insightful guidance by the President of the Republic for achievement of national objectives is also greatly valued in Serbia as well as my country.
Long live Pakistan, Long Live Serbia!
Thank you once again for your precious time with us.”
