ISLAMABAD, Jan 26: The Indian High Commission in Islamabad celebrated the country's Republic Day on Wednesday amid tight security, with the spirit of the festivity un dampened by a weather threat and Kashmiris protests.
A large number of guests attended a reception hosted by Indian High Commissioner Shivshankar Menon to mark the occasion whose venue was abruptly moved from the High Commission lawns in the well-protected diplomatic enclave to a nearby hotel because the local meteorological office had forecast the possibility rain at the time.
But a bright sunshine around noon after several days of a cold wave proved the weather office wrong and encouraged guests to move out of the hotel hall to lawns to enjoy a sizzling barbecue and the typical south Indian dosa dish in open air while chatting about issues ranging from the future of the India-Pakistan peace dialogue to the current unrest in Balochistan.
At the same time, scores of members of a Kashmiri group, carrying black flags and protest placards, demonstrated outside the Saudi-Pak Tower building housing some UN offices as part of a "black day" called by All Parties Hurriyat Conference to protest against India's rule in the disputed Himalayan state.
A similar demonstration was held by another group led by a former Azad Kashmir president, Maj-Gen (retired) Mohammad Hayat Khan. Police commandos were present in strength on the hotel premises though no protest was planned near the reception, there was no big police presence elsewhere in the capital.
There was no formal statement made at the reception whose guests included parliament members, politicians, diplomats, intellectuals and peace activists, with the highest ranking Pakistan government representation made by Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunications Ali Asjad Malhi.
The day marked New Delhi's biggest official holiday of the year on which both President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had sent felicitation messages to their Indian counterparts.
