94th Turkish Victory Day celebrated

Turkish Ambassador Sadik Babür Girgin hosted a reception at the Serena Hotel to mark the 94th anniversary of Turkish Victory Day. Among the guests were military and civilian officials from foreign missions, the government, civil society and the business community.

Turkish Victory Day is celebrated on August 30 to mark the country’s victory in the 1922 Greco-Turkish War’s Battle of Dumlupinar, in the Kütahya Province in western Turkey, which was decisive in determining the outcome of the four year Turkish War of Independence that followed World War I. The day has been a national holiday since 1935.

The guests had much to discuss at the reception, in light of the recent attempted coup in Turkey and visits by a number of foreign diplomatic delegations to the country – from the United Nations, European Union, United States and more. The reception in Islamabad seemed more somber than it would otherwise have been.

In Turkey, the traditional state ceremony was held in Antikabir, Ankara to mark this year’s victory day anniversary, but the parade of military vehicles was cancelled. The federal minister for planning and reforms, Ahsan Iqbal, was invited to the event as chief guest, and was accompanied by the chief of naval staff, Admiral Mohammad Zakaullah, and other dignitaries.

Charity bazaar raises funds for hospital

The Islamabad Foreign Women’s Association (IFWA) also hosted a charity bazaar at the Serena Hotel, to raise funds for the Pink Ribbon Charity Hospital.

IFWA President Jasmina Makarevic, who is also the wife of Bosnian envoy Nedim Makarevic, said: “IFWA is very pleased to had the chance to support Pink Ribbon in their noble cause in building a charity hospital for breast cancer patients.”

Pink Ribbon CEO Omer Aftab said at the event that Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer in all of Asia. He thanked the IFWA and Serena Hotel for helping the organisation build the first breast cancer hospital in Pakistan.

Farah Rahman said: “Alliance Francaise participated in this lovely bazaar to support their worthy cause to raise funds for Pink Ribbon charity hospital.”

Various diplomatic missions had set up food stalls in one hall, which featured everything from satay to almond crisps. Another hall was occupied by vendors and organisations that offered information or sold handicrafts.

Musical performances and the raffle also drew a lot of interest, and the envoys – led by Mr Makarevic – performed ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ as their closing number.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2016