Consul General hosts reception to mark 100-year anniversary of Lithuania’s independence

ISLAMABAD, March 15 (APP): The Honrary Consul General of Republic of Lithuania, Masaud M Khan, Thursday hosted a reception here for the diplomatic core, prominent businessmen, high officials and distinguished citizens.
On the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of the restoration of Independence of Lithuania, Mr And Mrs Masud M Khan welcomed the guests and had frank social chit chat with the diplomats and other participants.
Lithuania declared independence in 1990 from the crumbling Soviet Union. The country is no newcomer to the map of Europe as its statehood stretches back to the 13th century when its first king, Mindaugas, was crowned in 1253.
Later, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a major European powerhouse until the federation was wiped off the map in 1795 by imperial Russia, Prussia and Austria.
Until World War I, Lithuania was a province of the Russian empire, which sought to crush nationalism and even banned the Lithuanian alphabet.
The Lithuanian Council declared independence on Feb 16, 1918, when the country was still under German occupation. Brief wars with Bolsheviks and Poles followed before Lithuania won international recognition in the following years.
European leaders gathered in Vilnius to celebrate 100 years on Friday since Lithuania regained independence after World War I, but amid flaring tensions with powerful neighbour Russia, Mr Khan said. Lithuanians have made a long journey over the last century, he added.
Modern Lithuania was an independent nation between the two World Wars. The Soviet Union invaded Lithuania in 1940, Nazi Germany invaded in 1941, and the Soviets returned in 1944.
Lithuania finally won recognition from Moscow after the failed coup by hardliners in the Soviet capital in August 1991.
In 2004, Vilnius’s pro-Western drive culminated with the EU and NATO membership. In 2015, Lithuania adopted the euro. Unlike certain other ex-communist countries, Lithuania has sought to avoid major confrontations with the EU, earning it praise from Brussels on the eve of its centenary.