National Day of Bangladesh celebrated

Islamabad
On the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the Independence and National Day of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the high commissioner, Sohrab Hossain and Mrs Rawsanara Hossain hosted a reception at the Shishmahal Hall of Serena Hotel. It was a well attended affair, with diplomats from many cadres and Pakistanis from different walks of life, especially those with a ‘connection’ of some kind to the country coming to wish the hosts. The guest of honour was Minister of Commerce Ghulam Dastgir and the cake was cut after the national anthem of both countries had been played.
Adding colour to the guest list was Pakistani film star Zeba, who was the centre of attention from those who were her fans during the golden years of Pakistani cinema. She acted in many movies like ‘Armaan,’ which is considered as the best movie in her entire career. It was also Pakistan’s first Platinum Jubilee Urdu film and is considered a classic. Looking graceful in a light pink outfit, she smiled and took the compliments given to her with a smile, a ‘shukriya’ and an appropriate remark according to whom she was addressing. A photo with the star was also an ongoing request, to which she responded willingly.
For those guests who have not been to Bangladesh a continuous screening of the sights and sounds of the country was there to view if they were interested. The scent of roses was quite strong near the entrance and probably came from the petals that were heaped on both side of the red carpet and the flowers that made up the Bangladeshi flag, which made the backdrop where the hosts were receiving their guests. It was a spot used by many to take a photograph as a memento of the occasion! Dinner was served and the popular Bengali sweet ‘rasgula’ was on the desert menu, making guests wonder if they were from Bangladesh or locally purchased.
While the media often reports points of differences between Pakistan and Bangladesh, on occasions such as this, acrimony, if any, is put on the backburner and both hosts and Pakistani guests mark the celebration with a show of friendship and goodwill. Time, they say, heals all wounds and hopefully, unhappy memories will eventually become history, with the word ‘brotherly’ — which is used very often for describing the relationship between the two countries — having some meaning instead of being an empty phrase uttered for the sake of propriety.
Despite problems, Bangladesh is a ‘Next Eleven’ emerging economy according to experts. It has achieved significant strides in human and social development, including progress in gender equity, universal primary education, food production, health and population control.