- Parade features contingents of China and Azerbaijan with Saudi Defence Minister as guest of honour
- President urges political parties to unite to work together for development of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The nation is celebrating Pakistan Day 2024 on Saturday with a renewed pledge to work hard for the progress and stability of the country with a magnificent Pakistan Day Military parade held at Shakarparian Parade Avenue in Islamabad wherein tri-services demonstrated exemplary professionalism and military prowess.
Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud was the guest of honour in today’s event while the contingents of China and Azerbaijan also featured in the parade.
President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and all the service chiefs were present at the occasion.
The impressive ceremony kicked off with the flypast of fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy. Newly inducted J-10 C, indigenously built JF-17 thunder, F-16, and Mirage fighter jets as well as AWACs, P-3C Orion and ATR participated in the fly past.
Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu led the flypast which included the J-10C and F-7PG fighter aircraft.
Contingents of Pakistan Army, Navy, Pakistan Air Force, Special Services Group, Frontier Corps, Rangers, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police and Gilgit Baltistan Scouts marched past the dais presenting salute to the chief guest and the guest of honor.
Mechanized columns including tanks, armored personnel carriers, rocket launchers, air defense system, guns, UAVs, short and long range missiles Ra’ad, Nasr, Babur, Shaheen, Ghauri and Ababeel were showcased on the occasion. Engineering corps also presented its state of the art equipment.
The parade featured the march past of the helicopters of Pakistan Army, Navy and Air Force. The troops from Azerbaijan and China participated in the parade.
Amidst applause by the audience, formations of Sherdils and JF-17 Thunder and F-16 fighter jets presented breathtaking aerobatic maneuvers spreading a range of colours in the skies.
Floats depicting culture of Azad Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan and the four provinces were part of the parade.
This was followed by the fly past of helicopters of Pakistan Army, PAF and Navy.
The sky divers of Special Services Group exhibited free fall from a height of ten thousand feet, carrying national flags and those of services. Afterwards, the national flag was presented to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The parade culminated with presentation of a special song themed ‘Pochay Jo Naam Koi Tum Pakistan Batana’.
Pakistan Day
The Pakistan Day (March 23) marks the adoption of the historic Lahore Resolution on this day in 1940 which provided a framework for the realisation of the goal of a separate homeland for Muslims of South Asia.
Nation celebrates Pakistan Day with national zeal and zest
Nation celebrated Pakistan Day with a renewed pledge and commitment to transform the country into a true Islamic welfare state as per the ideology of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and ensure its progress, prosperity and a strong defence.
The day dawned with 31-gun salute in the federal capital and 21-gun salute in provincial capitals.
Special prayers were offered in mosques after Fajr prayers for progress and prosperity of the country. Radio Pakistan, PTV and other TV channels are airing special programs to highlight the importance of this day and pay tributes to the leaders and activists of Pakistan Movement.
Special prayers were offered in mosques after Fajr prayer for the prosperity and solidarity of the country. The national flag was hoisted on major government buildings.
Change of guard ceremonies were held at the mausoleums of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi and Dr Allama Iqbal in Lahore.
Air Vice Marshal Tariq Mahmood was the chief guest at the ceremony held at Iqbal’s mausoleum in Lahore where Pakistan Airforce troops took over guard duty from Chenab Rangers.
Zardari calls for unity for development, prosperity of Pakistan
President Asif Ali Zardari began his speech by welcoming Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Defence Prince Khalid bin Salman Khalid Bin Aziz, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, members of parliament, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, and parade commander.
President Zardari, in his address, said that March 23 holds national importance as on this day, Muslims of the subcontinent demanded a separate nation for themselves.
“Today, we pay homage to leaders, martyrs and ghazis who sacrificed their lives for independence,” said the president, adding that the Pakistani nation, from its independence till today, has gone through ups and downs.
“Despite the difficulties, we developed in different areas including defence, agriculture, education, health, and technology,” he mentioned.
The president said that Pakistan is a strong country in terms of defence and the country’s armed forces are always ready for the nation.
Speaking about the issues being faced by the nation, Zardari said that the country is facing economic, social and political challenges, as well as increasing population, climate change, education and poverty.
He added that Pakistan went through a successful electoral phase to elect a democratic government, adding that it was now everyone’s responsibility to solve these issues together.
“I believe that just like we faced the challenges in the past, we can still rid Pakistan of these challenges. A special investment facilitation council has been set up for the country’s economy. Through this plan, we will attract foreign investment and develop agriculture, livestock, minerals, mining, information technology and energy sectors,” he said.
“I request all political parties to keep aside their political benefits to find a solution to the problems and work together for the development of Pakistan,” said President Zardari.
He added: “In our region, one of the main reasons for instability is the Indian Illegal Occupation of Jammu & Kashmir. The Kashmiri people have been demanding their right to self-determination for 76 years. We condemn the brutalities and human rights violations carried out by the Indian government against innocent and unarmed Kashmiri people and ask the international community to ensure the implementation of the UNSC resolution on Kashmir.
“I want to remind the Kashmiris once again that the people of Pakistan will always stand by them in their just struggle against trinity.”
The president said, “With regards to human catastrophes unfolding in Gaza, we appeal to the international community to take measures to ensure that the killing of innocent Palestinian people including children and women is immediately halted, a ceasefire is announced and a humanitarian corridor is opened at priority. Pakistan will continue to support the people of Palestine till the resolution of the Palestine issue as per the aspirations of their people.”
Highlighting the security challenges, the president said that Pakistan wants relations with all its neighbours as it is a peace-loving country and a responsible state.
“However, we will not compromise on our sovereignty. Our nation and armed forces are always ready to respond to any aggression at all times. We will not tolerate any efforts by terrorists or any groups to destabilise our country. Today’s parade is a reminder of our unity, strength and pride.”
In his concluding remarks, the president thanked China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey and other countries for standing with Pakistan in hard times.
