Who’s who of City attends US I-Day celebration

LAHORE: It seemed as if all who’s who of the city have turned out to attend the American Independence Day function held at the residence of the US Consulate General Carmela Conroy, and they have made it certain that they reach in-time as well, while quite a few stayed beyond the scheduled time on a humid June 30 late evening.It was truly a celebration which was attended by people from all shades of life, including politicians, elected members of different houses, diplomats of other countries, businessmen, showbiz guys and gals, mediamen, and editors. All were dressed to make an impression – suits, saris, shalwar kameez, contrasting T-shirts and pair of jeans.The gathering imparted an impression that they were at the premises of a friendly country, which could not be antagonist to Pakistan. Everyone was mixing around, and looking for acquaintances. And if one was not familiar but was an important person, at least sharing of visiting cards was possible. The rest known ones could share at least one or two sentences, like ‘Good to see after a long time; stay in touch’. Perhaps this would be actualised at the next event at the same premises! At the onset, elaborate arrangements were made for an interrupted traffic flow, including three parking lots and shuttle service, if one was ‘self-driven’, as put by quizzing men at security checks, and the City Traffic Wardens were there to guide well-dressed visitors further.As I was ‘self-driven’, I had to park my car at a little distance from the residence, and avail shuttle service. However, a gentleman clad in civvies – in quite a contrast to the Consulate staff – was efficiently noting down people’s names and their working places, obviously after questioning them for this. Surely, this was all for security purpose, but it annoyed quite a few since they believed that ‘some other people’ were collecting data.