Pakistan Independence Day Celebrated in San Francisco Bay Area
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
San Francisco Bay Area Pakistani-American community celebrated the 65th Independence Day with great enthusiasm and fervor.
The Pakistan Association of San Francisco Bay Area (PASFBA) organized a colorful program to celebrate the occasion at the San Mateo County Event Center in San Mateo. The program included live music, national songs by children, and quiz about Pakistan.
Malik Nadeem Kamran, a senior Minister of Punjab, who was on a private visit to the area, also attended the celebrations. He applauded the spirit of Pakistani Americans to hold such a lively event that attracted about 2,500 people from far and near.
Deputy Consul General of Pakistan, Dr. Khalid Ejaz, specially traveled from Los Angeles to attend the event.
The people were in a nostalgic mood and many ladies preferred to wear green dresses to express love for the native country. Many people wore tee-shirts embossed with Pakistani flag or patriotic slogans such as “Jeeve Pakistan.” Some were dressed in the Pakistani cricket team outfit.
Big and small Pakistan flags could be seen everywhere. A large Pakistan flag was hoisted in the center of the ground. The stage was also decorated with American and Pakistani flags.
It looked like a traditional festival (mela). There were booths of various merchandises from Pakistan such as the latest fashion ladies dresses, artificial jewelry and shoes.
Tasty Pakistani food was provided by Shalimar Restaurant of Sunnyvale and Zamzam Restaurant of Fremont.
Live music and songs delighted the audience. The singers included Tahir from Los Angeles, Shakeel from Sacramento and Imran Rehan from the Bay Area. Imran Rehan’s group “Pehchaan” presented a thrilling live program.
Chicago-based popular Pakistani singer Zaheer Abbas was scheduled to perform at the event but he had to cancel his appearance because his mother had expired in Pakistan.
The program, which began at 11.00 AM ended at 6.30 PM, with the enthusiastic crowd fullyenjoying the musical presentations. The program concluded with the national anthem of Pakistan sung by the officials of the Association, Imran Rehan and others.
At the end, President of the Pakistan Association of San Francisco Bay Area, Syed Mohammad Nusrat, thanked the volunteers and sponsors for making the event successful.
The sponsors of the event included: Emirates Airline, Jadoo, Akhtar Sheikh Property Management, Tri City Travel, Chandni Restaurant, KK Builders, Total Wealth Solutions, Restonic Inc., Copy Word, Classic Shuttle Services Inc., Shiraz Aladin CPA, and Ellahi & Farooqi Law Firm.
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