Over 1000 people came to Celebrate Pakistan’s Republic Day at Pakistan House. An inspring and emotional National Anthem and Flag Raising performance by 17 local Pakistani Children, dressed in Pakistani, Canadian and Aboriginal dress kicked off the event and energized the capacity crowd with energy and emotion.

Dinner was served prior to the formal program beginning. Speeches from President Farrukh Alam, Pakistan House Chairman Sabir Ali Pannun and Counsel General Moin Ul Haque preceded the performances of our two featured performers.

AKS featuring frontman Ali Zaidi of Sohni Dharti Pakistan started off with some National Songs to bring the crowd to their feet. A few technical glitches hampered the performance somewhat but the crowd was there to have a good time and a good time was had all around. AKS would come back to an encore performance to round out the event and finish on a high.

Having flown in that morning from Pakistan, Lawyer turned Pakistani Hip-Hop Artist, Omer Inayat was struck by the magnitude of the event and the crowd that had gathered. He repeatedly thanked the crowd for their enthusiasm especially the throngs of youngsters gathered at the foot of the stage, reacting to every lyric and motion. Going through his hits and a few variations of his hits Omer fed off the enthusiam of the audience and performed a spirited 7 song set.

As with all events, this one could not have been put together without the tireless efforts of a mountain of volunteers and sponsors. A very special thanks to the children and parents who perfected the Pakistani and Canadian National Anthems and to the volunteers that brought Pakistan House to life. And of course, thank you for attending and being part of a ground breaking and awe-inspiring event.

Photos taken by Amir and Yasir Mirani