On August 14, H. E. Mr. A. S. Babar Hashmi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, gave a reception at Radisson Blue Grand Hotel Sofia, on the occasion of the Independence Day of the country.

On that date in 1947, under the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the country gained its independence.

In his welcoming speech, the Ambassador affirmed: "As we celebrate our 70^th year of independence, I am happy to note that in all these years, despite some setbacks, the country’s overall trajectory has been upwards and positive, towards peace, development and prosperity". He pointed out that Pakistan is blessed with about 200 million people, vast fertile plains, blue oceans, immense deserts and gigantic mountains. "Pakistan is Mecca for high mountain climbers". He also congratulated the Bulgarian mountaineer Boyan Petrov, who has now climbed allfive of Pakistan’s 8000 meters high mountains including K-2.

While pointing out the geopolitical situation and Bulgarian-Pakistani relations, H. E. Mr. A. S. Babar Hashmi emphasized that Pakistan wants "a peaceful neighbourhood" and would like to resolve all its disputes peacefully and through negotiations including "the Kashmir dispute". The ambassador wished success to Bulgaria for its forthcoming Presidencyof the EU Council, which will commence in January 2018.

Highlighting the inter-linkages and the global nature of issues these days, Ambassador of Pakistan said that "Our triumphs are your victories just as your challenges are our common concerns and terrorism is one such concern". He pointed out that "terrorism is the bane of our times and the scourge of our climes" of which no country, no continent is spared and that "we are all together in this fight". He said that Pakistan has made more sacrifices in the war against terror than all the 40 or so coalition countries combined in Afghanistan and elsewhere. "We have lost over 60,000 valuable lives, both civilian and military, and have suffered losses exceeding 100 billion dollars for the last 15 years. This is the reality. The rest is politics by vested interests with ulterior motives". He also mentioned the generosity of Pakistani people by hosting more than three million Afghan refugees for over 35 years in Pakistan.

Ambassador Hashmi underlined that despite its technological prowess, Pakistan remains an agricultural country and it is amongst the first five top producers of mangoes in the world. "We are currently exporting mangoes to over 45 countries, many in the European Union, the Middle East, Canada, North America and Russia". He mentioned that there are over 250 varieties of mangoes in Pakistan "of which you will taste just one today called the „White Chaunsa“." That's why Pakistan’s independence day holiday in Bulgaria this year was celebrated under the event entitled "Pakistani Mango Tasting". Especially for the event, the exotic fruit was flown in from Pakistan and served to the guests in a variety of ways.

At the end of his speech, Ambassador Hashmi quoted a popular Pakistani proverb about the mango: "It is on a tree full of mangoes that they throw stones", meaning thereby, that people attack you because of your successes. "And in Pakistan we have many trees full of mangoes."

The images were provided by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

All guests tasted the aromatic, sweet and magical world of the Pakistani mango.