National Day of Poland celebrated

Islamabad

To celebrate the National Independence Day of the Republic of Poland and the Armed Forces Day, Ambassador and Mrs Piotr Opalinski hosted a reception at the Marriott Hotel. The event was attended by diplomats; Defence Attaches and Advisors of the Diplomatic Defence Corps; Pakistanis from different walks of life, including officers of the Armed Forces and members of a visiting Polish delegation. Marshal of the Senate of Poland, Stanis  aw Karczewski, on a two day visit to Pakistan, was the guest of honour, while Chairman Senate, Raza Rabbani was the chief guest. The cake cutting ceremony took place after the national anthems of both countries had been played.

The Crystal Hall was abuzz with conversation and a celebratory atmosphere held sway as guests arrived and congratulated the hosts. The VIP seating area had a backdrop of a scene of the capital Warsaw, which has been beautifully reconstructed after the devastation suffered during World War 11. A video screening of the sights and sounds of Poland continued till dinner was served. An exhibition of photographs of Polish hero, Air Commodore W         adys   aw Józef Marian Turowicz and his spouse Zophia - who is a heroine in her own right - had been set up in an adjacent room to pay tribute to the man who was known as ‘Pakistan’s Polish Patriot.’

Ambassador Opalinski began his address in Urdu, with a warm welcome to the gathering and saying a few words about Poland/Pakistan friendship. He switched to English to introduce the guest of honour and thank Raza Rabbani for accepting his invitation.

Marshal Stanis          aw Karczewski spoke in Polish and his speech was translated to English. He gave a brief outline of the history of Poland; expressed satisfaction at the bilateral relations which were cordial from the beginning but were cemented many years ago when about forty five Polish Air Force officers and other refugees chose to settle in Pakistan after World War 11, with high words of appreciation for Air Commodore Turowicz and the work he had done. Speaking of his visit to Pakistan he said it was gratifying to note that Polish parliamentarians and their Pakistani counterparts had similar thinking on various issues and how this was conducive to fostering better bilateral relations. “I am happy to be here with you all as we celebrate our national day” he said.”I will carry back pleasant memories of my visit.”

Raza Rabbani also spoke in Urdu for a few minutes, saying Ambassador Polanski had spoken such good Urdu that he felt a little nervous about speaking after him! Continuing in English he said that Pakistan was keen to enhance mutual cooperation with Poland in addition to strengthening cooperation in different sectors for the benefit of the people of both countries and expressed satisfaction that both Pakistan and Poland supported each other on international forums. He too mentioned the Polish officers and others who had stayed in Pakistan – a country which was open minded and unlike the negative impression given by international media. Thanking his hosts for inviting him to celebrate along with them on this auspicious occasion, he concluded by wishing the people of Poland on behalf of the government and himself.

Air Commodore Turowicz, a Polish-Pakistani aviator, military scientist and aeronautical engineer besides being a main protagonist in the setting up of the PAF, was also the administrator of Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) from 1967 to 1970. He made significant contributions to Pakistan's missile/rocket programme. In Pakistan, he remains highly respected as a scientist and noted aeronautical engineer. For his outstanding services to Pakistan Air Commodore Turowicz was awarded Sitara-e-Pakistan (1965); Tamgha-i-Pakistan (1967); Sitara-i-Khidmat (1967); Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam (1971); Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Mil) (1972); Abdus Salam Award in Aeronautical Engineering (1978) and ICTP Award in Space Physics (1979).