Fireworks light skies over Pakistan’s capital as crowds celebrate Independence Day

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Fireworks burst over Pakistan’s capital at midnight as jubilant crowds poured into streets across the country to mark the 79th anniversary of independence, waving national flags and chanting “Long Live Pakistan.”

Women and children joined the late-night celebrations as roads and public spaces filled with people dressed in green and white. In Islamabad, crowds gathered along major roads as fireworks illuminated the night sky.

Pakistan emerged as an independent state on Aug. 14, 1947, following the end of British colonial rule and the partition of the Indian subcontinent. Official celebrations were set to continue Friday with flag-raising ceremonies and other events.

This year’s celebrations included the inauguration in Islamabad of the “Yadgar-e-Fatah,” or Monument of Victory, commemorating what Pakistan calls the “Battle of Truth” against India last year.

In a televised speech, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan wants peace, not war, but warned that its desire for peace should not be seen as weakness. He said threats to Pakistan’s sovereignty would draw a strong response, referring to a four-day conflict with India in May 2025.

The fighting erupted after gunmen killed 26 people in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India blamed Pakistan-backed militants, an allegation Islamabad denied. The nuclear-armed rivals exchanged missile, drone and other strikes before a ceasefire halted the fighting.

Sharif also criticized India for suspending a water sharing treaty after the conflict, the World Bank-brokered decades-old agreement governing the sharing of waters from the Indus River system.

“Every drop of water is our red line,” Sharif said, warning that Pakistan would respond if India threatened its water supplies.