Sweets being exchanged at the Wagah-Attari border. ANI

Lahore, August 14

Pakistan on Monday hoisted a 400-ft-high national flag, the largest in its history, at the Attari-Wagah border with India to mark the country’s Independence Day.Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa hoisted the flag at the border after Sunday midnight, kicking off the celebrations for the Independence Day across the country.The flag is said to be the highest in South Asia and the eighth highest in the world.Made in Pakistan, it is 400-ft-high and 120 feet by 80 feet in size.

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Gen Bajwa said: “Some 77 years ago, a Pakistan resolution was passed in the same city (Lahore). Pakistan came into being on the night of 27th Ramadan–it was a blessed night.“Today, the country is progressing on the path of the law and the Constitution. All institutions are working properly. We will make Pakistan the country of Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal.”Gen Bajwa enunciated the many challenges Pakistan faced but also tried to drum up the nationalistic sentiment.“We have rendered many sacrifices–we will never forget our martyrs. We will execute each and every terrorist in Pakistan. I want to tell our enemies, whether they are in the east or in the west, that your bullets will end but not the chests of our jawans.”“I assure you that we will never let you down. Any power that will aim to weaken Pakistan, the Army and all other institutions will foil their attempts.”Other speakers at the event also paid tributes to those killed during the migration to Pakistan. PTI