Pakistani girls wave national flags at a flag-hoisting ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of independence from British rule Tuesday in Islamabad, Pakistan. Pakistan celebrates its independence amid a political crisis facing the country's U.S.-allied president and surging militant violence.

Rawalpindi, Pakistan ? On the 60th anniversary of Pakistan’s independence, the people at the largest gathering in the country did not set off fireworks or celebrate. Instead, they demanded the ouster of the country’s embattled president, Pervez Musharraf.

More than 60,000 people came out Tuesday evening to hear anti-government speeches at a park in Rawalpindi, just outside Islamabad, according to organizers. The roads leading to the park were choked for miles. So many people showed up, they sat outside the park, lining the streets and listening to loudspeakers. At times, it was difficult to move.

“This shows people’s discontent,” said Shahid Zulfiqar Ali, secretary general of the Justice Movement, or Tehrik-e-Insaaf, as he looked out over the audience. “The time has come for a change. The crisis being projected in the world is that there is a problem in Pakistan. No. The only problem in Pakistan is that Musharraf does not want to go.”

Musharraf, also his country’s army chief, faces his biggest political crisis since seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1999. With elections approaching, opposition political parties want him to remove his army uniform and ensure that the vote is free and fair. The U.S. wants him to do more against Islamic militants and the Taliban, as well as hold free and fair elections. Islamic militants continue to launch suicide attacks nationwide and ambushes in the border areas, as well as stage attacks across the border in neighboring Afghanistan.

Many Pakistanis say that Musharraf, a key U.S. ally in the war on terror, has been his own worst enemy. His decision in March to suspend the country’s chief justice, later overturned by the courts, led to nationwide protests and renewed political opposition. A raid on a militant mosque in July led to bloodshed and even more criticism.

Musharraf, who did not directly address the nation Tuesday but spoke at a TV round-table discussion Monday night, appealed to Pakistanis to reject extremism in coming elections.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, thousands of Pakistanis celebrated independence from British rule, shooting off firecrackers and firing guns. Green-and-white Pakistani flags flew from car windows and motorcycles.

At the government’s Independence Day event, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told officials and diplomats that Pakistan respects neighboring countries and wants peace. He also said Pakistan’s military could defend the country’s troubled borders, likely referring to the recent statements by U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, who said that, as president, he would authorize the hunting down of terrorists in Pakistan if the nation failed to act on good intelligence.

“We will never, never allow any foreign power to interfere in our frontiers,” Aziz said.