By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

Pakistan marked its 71st Independence Day on Tuesday with celebrations in major cities including capital Islamabad.

The day dawned with a 31-gun salute in the capital and a 21-gun salute in all four provincial capitals.

Cities and villages were decorated in green and white, signifying colors of the national flag.

Flag-raising ceremonies were hosted at the presidential and prime minister offices.

Prime Minister-elect Imran Khan said in a tweet: "On this Independence Day I am filled with the greatest optimism. Despite our grave economic crises, due to corruption & cronyism, I know if we are united in our resolve, we will rise to the challenge & Pak will become the great nation envisaged by our Quaid & Iqbal."

He was referring to the nation's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, fondly remembered as Quaid-e-Azam (great leader), and national poet Allama Mohammed Iqbal.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), emerged as the single largest party in the July 25 general elections -- which were marred by allegations of rigging by the opposition.

Pakistan faces a looming economic crisis with its foreign reserves at merely $10 billion. To address the issue, the country has reportedly approached the Saudi-based Islamic Development Fund for a $4 billion loan.

Additionally, its already rocky relations with the U.S. have hit another low with Washington cutting scores of Pakistani military officers from its education and training programs.

The U.S. is not satisfied with how some leaders it proscribed as terrorists were allowed to contest the election including Hafiz Saeed, alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack -- a charge he denies.

In 2012, the U.S. announced a bounty of $10 million for Saeed over his alleged role in the attacks in India that killed 166 people including six U.S. citizens.

Pakistan army maintains that it has routed Taliban hideouts from its northwestern areas bordering Afghanistan, as proof of its contribution to the U.S.-led war on terror.

Meanwhile, opposition parties continue blaming the powerful army for meddling in the election.

On Aug. 8, Maulana Fazl-Ur-Rahman, head of Muttahida Majlis Amal (MMA), a five-party religious alliance, announced that he will not celebrate Independence Day, but launch "a real struggle for independence".

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif languishes in jail, after a court handed him a 10-year jail term and imposed an 8-million-pound ($ 10.58-million) fine, in a graft case linked to purchase of four luxury apartments in London in 1993.

None of the 17 elected premiers have been able to complete their terms in office since 1947, while the military has ruled the South Asian nuclear-power for over three decades through coups.