RAWALPINDI: The annual Pakistan Day parade scheduled to be held on Tuesday (tomorrow) has been postponed to March 25 due to the forecast of “inclement weather and rain” over the next two days, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced Monday.
“The Joint Services Pakistan Day Parade will now be held on 25th March, 2021 as per program and timings already specified,” the military’s media wing said in a statement.
The day commemorates March 23, 1940, when the All-India Muslim League demanded the establishment of separate nations to protect Muslims in the then British colony of India.
The event, held at Parade Ground near the Shakarparian hills in Islamabad and attended by civil and military leadership as well as foreign dignitaries, begins with a 31-gun salute in the federal capital while provincial capitals mark it with 21-gun salutes.
The parade also showcases the local cultures of the four provinces. Cultural delegates and floats from Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir are featured during the ceremony.
Between 2008 and 2014, no parades were held due to an escalation in military’s conflict with the Afghanistan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In 2015, the military resumed the parade, declaring the militants were on the run since it launched an operation in 2014 to dislodge militants from the restive border regions.
State-owned agency APP reported Sunday the military has been busy in rehearsals and drills at parade ground to celebrate the day in a spectacular way.
The troops and other wings of the military were being seen rehearsing and making administrative arrangements for the day which is held in a dignified and respectful manner.
Last week, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said there was no plan to cancel or limit the parade.
“We have already discussed all arrangements and SOPs during the parade and it will be held with the usual zeal,” he told a local publication. “However, we have observed that the provincial administrative units and Islamabad are not enforcing the SOPs strictly, therefore, they have all been directed to ensure their implementation.”
