Over one hundred Pakistani and foreign guests gathered in the garden of the Polish Embassy in Islamabad on 26^th May 2022 at a performance organised jointly by the diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic and Poland. As the Polish Ambassador Maciej Pisarski mentioned in his opening remarks, the purpose of the event was to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people, who are fighting not only “for their freedom but also for our freedom”. Czech Ambassador Tomáš Smetánka stated that the Russian aggression had been deplored by a UN resolution, approved by the votes of 141 states. He praised the steadfastness, bravery, and ingenuity with which the Ukrainians have been resisting the attacker and stressed the need for accountability of those who conceived the war and those who committed war crimes. Referring to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, he pointed to the then narrative of “a brotherly assistance to protect socialism” and the current one of “a special operation to de-Nazify Ukraine” as two deceitful representations of the same imperialist design. The Ambassador of Ukraine Markian Chuchuk thanked participants for their support and expressed his conviction his country will prevail, also thanks to having good friends.

The audience applauded both the gentle and intimate songs of the young Czech singer guitarist and the dynamic and animated performance of her Polish counterpart. Their joint rendition of the Ukrainian tune Oi u luzi chervona kalyna was an emotional underscore to the message of the evening.

Both singers visited Pakistan in the framework of a project of collaboration of European and indigenous Pakistani musicians, supported by the EU and its member states.