LAHORE: With Pakistan Independence Day just three days away, the celebratory colour of 14 August has spread across Lahore’s roads, bazaars and commercial centres.

Stalls stacked with national flags, badges, buntings and assorted Independence Day merchandise have appeared along the city’s main arteries and inside its busiest shopping districts, turning ordinary footpaths into ribbons of green and white.

Families are turning out in large numbers, with children and adults alike crowding the roadside stands. Residents said they were buying in bulk to decorate homes, shops, offices and vehicles ahead of the national holiday.

Traders manning the stalls reported a steady climb in footfall as the date approaches, saying sales have picked up sharply over the past 48 hours. Several vendors said the rush this year appears stronger than in recent seasons, with buyers spending more on larger flags and vehicle-mounted decorations.

Shopkeepers and shoppers alike described an unmistakable lift in mood across the city — the kind of patriotic energy, one vendor said, that arrives every August but seems to have come earlier and louder this year. Civic authorities are expected to complete the illumination of Lahore’s historic buildings over the next two days, with the main city celebrations scheduled for the night of 13 August.