Pakistan marks 60 years of freedom

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistanis celebrated the 60th anniversary of independence Tuesday with gunfire and colorful displays of national pride, pushing the recent political turmoil and surging militant violence into the background for a day.

Embattled President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, a close U.S. ally, appealed for Pakistanis to reject extremism at coming elections.

Tens of thousands rallied throughout the world's second most populous Muslim nation, waving Pakistan's olive-green flag with a white crescent. Others held prayer gatherings at home. Women daubed their forearms with elaborate henna-drawn flowers in national colors, and children ran through the streets late into Monday night, setting off firecrackers.

Police and hospital officials said at least two people died and 19 were wounded by celebratory gunfire in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city.

India celebrates independence today.

At daybreak, 31 artillery guns thundered over the capital, Islamabad, and 21-gun barrages were fired simultaneously in each of the four provincial capitals to mark the start of celebrations.

On Aug. 14, 1947, British colonial rulers granted independence and the subcontinent was split into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu-dominated India.

Partition brought one of modern history's biggest mass migrations as some 10 million people crossed the newly created frontier, and one of its bloodiest chapters as sectarian and religious fighting killed hundreds of thousands.

Lingering disputes -- especially over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir -- led to three wars between the South Asian neighbors, and tensions persist.

In the Pakistani city of Karachi, Dildar Khan took time off from driving his three-wheeler motorcycle taxi festooned with flags, flowers and blinking lights. He took his children to the domed mausoleum of the country's founder, Quaid-e-Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

"We are going there to offer prayers and the children will enjoy," Khan said. "I am going to salute the founder of Pakistan."

Some toned down their celebrations because of recent violence in Pakistan. More than 380 people have been killed since early July in the violence, much of it in the restive tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

Karachi shop owner Naqi Chand released pigeons to celebrate but said he would not be going to Jinnah's mausoleum because he feared a terrorist attack.

"I am happy that we are living in a free country, but I have a feeling that we are yet to gain a real independence," he said.

At the government's main Independence Day event, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told officials and diplomats that Pakistan sought peace and economic development, and would show respect to its neighbors.

He said Pakistan's military forces were well equipped to defend the country's borders, an apparent reference to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's recent statement advocating the U.S. take unilateral military action to hunt down "high-value" terrorists in Pakistan if Musharraf doesn't do it himself.

"We will never, never allow any foreign power to interfere in our frontiers," Aziz said. "We will not allow any foreign power, under any circumstances, to enter Pakistan's territory." He did not mention any country by name.

Musharraf, in a television talk-show appearance marking the anniversary, said late Monday he was "200 percent sure" the threat of U.S. strikes in Pakistan was not real.

Musharraf is seeking another term as the military head of state, but now faces the toughest challenge to his rule since taking power in a 1999 coup.

His bid earlier this year to remove independent-minded Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry backfired, drawing street protests and calls for greater democracy. He is also under pressure from Washington to do more to fight al-Qaida and Taliban militants.

The president urged Pakistanis to reject extremism at the coming elections.

"I urge all Pakistani citizens to get involved in the electoral process and become the instruments of enlightened moderation in their beloved country," Musharraf said.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Gordon Brown each sent messages of congratulations on the anniversary, to Musharraf and Aziz respectively.

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Associated Press reporters Afzal Nadeem in Karachi, Abdul Sattar in Quetta, Zia Khan in Lahore and Sadaqat Jan in Islamabad contributed to this report.