PESHAWAR: A large number of people, including women and children, turned up at the Peshawar Cantonment railway station here on Sunday to see off the Azadi Train, which left for Nowshera en route to Karachi.

The train had arrived in the provincial capital a day earlier.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser bid adieu to the train.

Talking to reporters on the occasion, Mr Qaiser lauded Pakistan Railways for taking the initiative of Azadi Train. `It is highly commendable job,` he said. He said they wanted to see Pakistan Railways meet the international standards and develop into a strong entity.

City traffic police also took out a flag march in connection with the 70th Independence Day. The march was taken out on GT Road and traffic police vans and rider squad took part in it.

KP Cycling Association organised a race to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Pakistan`s independence. The cycle race started from Peshawar and concluded in Nowshera.

Jamaat-i-Islami would also hold an Azadi night festival at Jinnah Park on Sunday night, where party chief Sirajul Haq would be the chief guest.

The city district government has also planned a function at Jinnah Park at the midnight. Peshawar District Nazim Mohammad Asim Khan, naib nazim Qasim Ali Shah and district councillors would attend the function.

On Monday, main function of the day would take place at the Civil Secretariat where Chief Minister Pervez Khattak would perform flag hoisting.Bureau Report