When the Australian High Commissioner Margaret Adamson welcomed hundreds of guests to celebrate ‘Australia Day in Spring’, she emphasized that this year’s theme is cultural diversity, noting that Australia is a country of immigrants appreciating differences.

She mentioned that Australia does have a huge land, with climatic diversity including desserts, fertile land, coastal strips and mountains. The population is modest with just about 24 million people, among them 55,000 of Pakistani origin. Currently, there are about 16,000 Pakistani students in Australia.

A Pakistani-Australian singer, Mahmood Khan, who topped the Australian Music Chart in 2009 with ‘Like a River’, recorded in Sydney Opera House, attended the event in Islamabad.

He performed along with musicians from the Leif Larsen Musical Centre in Hunza, playing traditional music from Gilgit-Baltistan on rabab and sitar. The centre’s name is made in memory of the Norwegian ambassador Leif Larsen who was among the diplomats and army personnel who died in a tragic helicopter accident about two years ago.

Chief guest on the occasion, which also marked 70 years of diplomatic relations between Australia and Pakistan, was Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan, Federal Commerce Minister. He and the High Commissioner stressed the cordial cooperation between the countries, which they spoke about in relatively long and particularly jovial terms.

As the evening drew to a close, there was a slight mishap when the stage collapsed with all the high commission staff members. No one was injured, but that was a grace of God, said a staff member. However, the high commissioner remained as light footed as ever, as she had been from the press conference and TV statements before the reception began till the last guest and staff were seen off.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2017