People watch fireworks during the Independence Day celebrations in Karachi, Pakistan, Aug. 14, 2020.
Pakistan is celebrating its Independence Day on Friday with rallies across the country.
In his Independence Day message, President Arif Alvi used the occasion to assure whom he called the “resilient people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir” that Pakistan will “continue to support them in their just struggle for their right to self-determination as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council resolutions." Both India and Pakistan lay claim to the disputed region.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said in his holiday statement, “The day is an occasion to pay tribute to all those sons of the soil who laid their lives while defending and protecting territorial as well as ideological frontiers of the motherland.”
Various groups and organizations began their holiday celebrations Thursday.