The Beijing Olympic torch relay in Islamabad will take place at 4:00 PM (11:00GMT) in the Pakistan Sports Complex in the southeastern part of the Pakistani capital.

Torchbearer Lu Yupeng plays lion dancing in Jinnah Sports Complex, around which the Olympic flame will circulate on April 16, in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on April 15. [Photo: Xinhua]

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani are expected to participate in the lighting ceremony of the torch relay, the first-ever event of this kind in the city.

Pakistan has changed its torch relay route from its originally-designed one due partly to security concerns.

Pakistan has stepped up security during the torch relay. Thousands of soldiers, paramilitary force and police will be deployed to the sports complex, which is also a project constructed in mid-1980s with Chinese assistance.

The Beijing Olympic flame arrived in Pakistani capital Islamabad at 0:25 local time (19:25 GMT) for the 10th leg of its global tour.

The Olympic flame, carried in a specially-designed lantern, was flied to Islamabad on a chartered plane from Muscat, the capital and largest city of the Sultanate of Oman.

Upon arrival, the Olympic flame and the whole delegation were welcomed by a cheering crowd, among whom are President of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) Arif Hassan, Pakistan's Sports Minister Muhammad Asif and Chairman of Capital Development Authority Kamran Lashari as well as the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Luo Zhaohui.

The flame delegation is headed by Jiang Xiaoyu, vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of Olympic Games (BOCOG), who carried the flame lantern.

There are 65 torch bearers in the relay, including 10 women.

Following the stop of Islamabad, the Olympic torch relay will go to New Delhi of India. The 2008 Olympic flame was ignited on March 24 in ancient Olympia of Greece and was handed over to Beijing on March 31 after a six-day relay in Greece.

The 130-day torch relay will cover 137,000 kilometers before the flame returns to Beijing and enters the National Stadium on Aug. 8 for the Olympics opening ceremony.

A total of 21,880 torch bearers will be participating in the unprecedented relay, which is held under the theme of "Journey of Harmony."

Kids free pigeons during a torch relay rehearsal in Jinnah Sports Complex, around which the Olympic flame will circulate on April 16, in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on April 15. [Photo: Xinhua]

Middle school students rehearse for the upcoming torch relay ceremony in Jinnah Sports Complex, around which the Olympic flame will circulate on April 16, in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on April 15. [Photo: Xinhua]

A security person guards outside the Liaquat Gymnasium for the upcoming torch relay ceremony in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on April 15. [Photo: Xinhua]

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2008)