Pakistanis celebrated National Day with a military parade in Islamabad
Pakistanis celebrated March 23 with a traditional parade demonstrating military might.
The day dawned with a 31-gun salute in Islamabad and a 21-gun salute in all the four provincial capitals, followed by change-of-guards ceremonies at the mausoleums of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal in Karachi and Lahore, respectively.
Military power
Pakistani troops, including female soldiers, marched past a stand, saluting the country’s leadership.
Several units from Pakistan’s army, air force, and navy participated in the parade. Fighter jets, including the newly inducted J-10, JF-17, and F-16 also held a flypast before the spectators.
Meanwhile, the PAF’s aerobatics display team, Sherdil, enthralled spectators with their unmatched aerial manoeuvres on nine Karakoram K-8P aircraft.
The paratroopers’ freefall was led by General Officer Commanding (GOC) SSG Major General Adil Rehmani. The GOC SSG presented the national flag to President Alvi after completing the freefall.
The parade comprised of marching columns of Pakistan Army’s infantry regiments of Punjab, Baloch, Frontier Force, Sindh Regiment, Northern Light Infantry, Frontier Corps, the flag-bearing contingent, Punjab Rangers, Mujahid Regiment, Pakistan Coast Guards — who were participating for the first time — Balochistan Levies, Pakistan police contingent led by Sindh police, Light Commando Battalion of Azad Kashmir regiment, Special Services Group (SSG), Pakistan Navy, Air Force, lady officers contingent comprising tri-services personnel and other paramilitary forces.
Contingents of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain militaries also took part in the parade.
Military equipment and mssiles on display
The cavalry of tanks on display included the modern VT-4 main battle tank and the indigenously developed Al-Khalid 1 tank. Pakistan also displayed its newly inducted advanced SH-15 artillery system and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS).
The country also exhibited its air defense systems including Q-9/P high to medium air defense system (HIMADS), radar system and electronic warfare equipment.
Pakistan-built reconnaissance UAV Shahpar and Uqab Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) was also displayed.
The nuclear-capable missiles Nasr (70km), Ra’ad-II (650km), Babur-1A cruise missile (450km), Ghouri (1500km), Shaheen-II (2000km) were also displayed. Ghouri and Shaheen-II can carry both conventional and nuclear warhead.
March 23 parade
President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and three services chiefs Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, Air Chief Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu and Naval Chief Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi attended the parade.
Foreign ministers and delegates from OIC Islamic countries also attended the parade. Turkiye’s Chief of the General Staff Gen. Yasar Guler and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the event as special guests.
In his speech, President Alvi called for making the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation more effective by forming unity among Muslim countries. Pakistan is a peace-loving country. “We will never make any compromise on our sovereignty,” he said.
Hard work, honesty and morality
In his message to the nation, Prime Minister Imran Khan stressed that the country came into being after a long democratic struggle and the key to its development lay in “hard work, honesty and morality”.
“We need to adhere to the principles of Unity, Faith and Discipline given by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and rededicate ourselves to develop Pakistan as a truly democratic welfare state on the model of Riyasat-i-Madina. On this day, it is pertinent to reflect upon the challenges confronting us as a nation,” he said.
The premier added his government had brought in long-term reforms and initiatives to alleviate poverty and promote justice and its focus remained on the marginalised segments of society and how to provide them equal opportunities. “We are now on the path to regain our past glory that was disrupted by previous regimes who gave importance to self-interests rather than national interest and welfare of the people.
“The struggle to eliminate corruption and improve moral standards would require the same persistence as our founding fathers persevered during the freedom movement,” the prime minister said.