Sombre Pakistan marks 60th birthday

---

ISLAMABAD, Aug 14 (AFP): Pakistan celebrated the 60th anniversary of independence Tuesday with prayers and a national minute of silence, low-key festivities for a country in the grip of political and religious turmoil.
Major public buildings in the capital Islamabad were bathed in brightly coloured floodlights but otherwise the mood was sombre and serious, with security forces on high alert after weeks of unrest and bloodshed.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz led a solemn flag-raising ceremony in the rainy capital to mark 60 years since Pakistan, now the world's second-largest Muslim-majority nation, was carved out of the remains of British India.
But all eyes were on General Pervez Musharraf, the military president who is facing the greatest challenge to his rule since he seized power in a 1999 coup.
Accused of trying to skirt the constitution to remain as head of the army as well as engineer re-election as president, Musharraf used his Independence Day message to urge Pakistanis to vote in elections expected by early next year.
"I urge all Pakistani citizens to get involved in the electoral process and become the instruments of enlightened moderation in their beloved country," he said in a message carried by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.