Nation commemorates Pakistan Day with tremendous zeal and fervour
The nation celebrates March 23rd with a resolve to ensure progress and prosperity of the country.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The nation celebrates Pakistan Day, 2019, with traditional zeal and fervor, and full commitment to ensure progress, prosperity, and a strong defense of the country.
The day dawned with a 31-gun salute in Islamabad and 21-gun salutes in provincial capitals while the change-of-guards ceremony was held at the mausoleum of Dr Allama Iqbal in Lahore.
Special prayers were offered in mosques after Fajr prayers for the progress and prosperity of Pakistan.
The military parade was held at Parade Ground near the Shakarparian hills in Islamabad where Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad was also present as a special guest of honour besides President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mehmood Hayat and the three services chiefs.
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The annual parade was also attended by foreign dignitaries. Pakistan Defence Minister Pervez Khattak and Minister of Defence of the Republic of Azerbaijan Colonel General Zakir Hasanov were also present at the parade ground.
Ambassadors of different countries among other federal ministers were also present in the parade ground.
Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan led a fly-past as a salute to the president. Following the Air Chief, a formation of four JF-17 Thunder fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force demonstrated its aerial prowess. They were followed by similar formations of Mirage, F-7PG and other fighter aircraft.
Moreover, the parade showcased local cultures of the four provinces as cultural delegates and floats from Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir were featured during the ceremony.
The parade also featured troops from Azerbaijan, China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Bahrain and Sri Lanka.
Mechanized columns including tanks, armored personnel carriers, rocket launchers, air defense system, tactical communication system, indigenously built UAVs, short and long ranged missiles Ra ad, Nasr, Ghauri and Shaheen were showcased on the occasion.
Formations of fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force, Turkish and Chinese air forces presented breathtaking aerobatic maneuvers spreading a range of colors in the skies.
Following the soldiers, contingents of armoured and mechanised infantry held a march-past, the Al-Khalid Main Battle Tank (MBT), Al Zarrar tanks, a variety of Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) as well as howitzer guns were paraded.
Radar systems, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), cruise missiles and other modern weaponry equipped with latest military technology were also put on the show.
At the tail end of the parade, a Pakistan Rangers band played national songs on bagpipes while riding camels in unison.
Several formations of a variety of combat helicopters belonging to the armed forces demonstrated their capabilities while PAF fighter jets presented their mid-air maneuvers.
The final segment of the show was a display of paratroopers parachuting off of helicopters and landing on their specified targets. There was also similar demonstration by the paratroopers from Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka, Bahrain and Brunai.
The entire nation celebrated the Pakistan Day with a firm resolve to ensure progress, prosperity and a strong defense of the country.
Breathtaking and spectacular performance by Chinese aerobatics team #BaYi adding colours to the Islamabad skies.#PakistanDayParade2019 #PakistanZindabad #PakistanDay pic.twitter.com/5hY5fv1Grq
— Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) March 23, 2019
The day commemorates the passage of Lahore Resolution in 1940, under which the Muslims of the sub-continent set the agenda of a separate homeland for themselves.
