Pakistan Day Parade

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Pakistan Day Parade
Pakistan Resolution Day.JPG
Sherdil Aerobatic Team performing at Pakistan Day Parade
GenreNational patriotic parade
BeginsMarch 23
EndsMarch 23
FrequencyAnnual
Location(s)Islamabad, Pakistan
Most recent2021
Next eventMarch 23, 2022
Soldiers from the Mujahid Force during the parade in 2016.

The Pakistan Day Parade also known as the National Day Joint Services Parade is an annual event held at Shakarparian in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on the occasion of the Pakistan Day. It specifically celebrates the anniversary of the Lahore Resolution of 1940. It is overseen by the President of Pakistan as well as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The two are accompanied by Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), the Army Staff Chief, Naval Staff Chief, and Air Force Staff Chief as well as foreign guests on occasion. It is organised by Joint Staff Headquarters (JS HQ).

History[]

A group photo of the Frontier Force Regiment prior to the parade in 1974.

Between its inception and 2008, the parade was held at various venues in the country. These include Constitution Avenue,[1] Jinnah Avenue and the Race Course Grounds in Rawalpindi.[2] Over two weeks prior to the parade in 1980, A conspiracy to assassinate President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq by Major General Tajammul Hussain Malik during the ceremony was foiled.[3] In 2008, the parade was suspended for an extended period of time due to the growing amount of terrorism in the country and fears that an attack on the parade was imminent.[4][5]

After a 7-year break, it was reconstituted in 2015 on the 75th anniversary.[6] This decision was made in part to the anniversary's significance as well as the success of Operation Zarb-e-Azb by the Pakistan Army.[7][8] As a precaution however, phone networks were blocked to thwart militants mobile cellular signals that could trigger bombs.[9][10]

The 80th anniversary parade was cancelled in 2020 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in Pakistan, with the cancellation being an attempt to mitigate the fall out from the pandemic.[11] During the rehearsals for the planned parade, a Pakistani Air Force Wing Commander flying in an F-16 jet was killed when it crashed in a wooded area.[12][13][14]

On March 13, 2020, A missing man formation would later be flown by the PAF on 13 March to honor the pilot. The 2021 parade was postponed due to "inclement weather and rain" and was rescheduled to March 25.[15]

Details[]

Members of the Pakistani Air Force during a parade rehearsal in 2016.

It begins in the morning at 10 a.m. and is immediately broadcast live by the Pakistani media.[4] At the parade, the services of the Pakistani Armed Forces are represented: the Army, Navy, Air Force and paramilitary forces. and the presidential arrival honors. The parade is led by a parade commander who is a senior officer in an army unit. Led by a massed color guard, the parade has consisted of units such as the 24th Cavalry (Frontier Force), the Guard Battalion and the Pakistan Rangers. Military equipment that have been unveiled at the parade have included the Type 84 and the SLC-2.[16] The Sherdils from the Pakistan Air Force Academy at Risalpur take part in the ceremony annually, performing formation aerobatics. On the planes used by the group, the Hongdu JL-8, has been showcased at the parade since 1994.

Other aircraft such as the CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder have also been unveiled at the parade.[17][18]

Bands from the armed forces that are present include the Pakistan Military Academy Band (PMA Band),[19] the Pakistan Armed Forces Band and the Pakistan Air Force Band.

Parade Commanders[]

From 1956 to 2019, the following officers from the army have led the joint services parade:

Year Officer Unit Notes
1983 Brigadier Nasir Mehmood 1st Punjab Regiment .
1987 Brigadier Afzal Janjua SJ FF Regt Later Lt. Gen.
1989 Brigadier Yasub Dogar 2 FF Regiment (Guides)
1996 Brigadier Naveed Nasr 17 Punjab Regiment Also commanded 70 Punjab
1997 Brigadier Javed Iqbal 18 Field Regiment MS to Nawaz Sharif in 1999
1998 Brigadier Akram Sahi FF Regt Later Maj. Gen.
1999 Brigadier Khalid Nawaz Janjua 3 Baluch Regt Later Lt. Gen.
20xx Brigadier Badar Munir 5 AK Regt
2005 Brigadier Naushad Kiani Punjab Regt Later Maj. Gen.
2007 Brigadier Tariq Ghafoor FF Regt Later Maj. Gen.
2008 Brigadier Ihsan ul Haq Later Maj. Gen.
2015 Brigadier Khurram Sarfaraz 27 Baluch Regt
2016 Brigadier Amir Majeed 29 AK Regt
2017 Brigadier Amer Ahsan Nawaz 3 Baluch Regt Now Lt. Gen.
2018 Brigadier Amer Amin 19 FF Regt

Foreign representation[]

Foreign dignitaries who have attended the parade[]

From 1956 to 2019, the following foreign dignitaries who have attended parade are:

Year Foreign dignitary
Guest of Honour		 Country Notes
1985 General Rudini[20] Indonesia Indonesia Chief of staff Indonesian Army
1987 Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe Zimbabwe President of Zimbabwe
1996 Cassam Uteem[20] Mauritius Mauritius President of Mauritius
1997 OIC Heads of States OIC Members To attend Extra-Ordinary OIC Summit
2005 Hamid Karzai  Afghanistan President of Afghanistan[21]
2018 Maithripala Sirisena[22] Sri Lanka Sri Lanka President of Sri Lanka
2019 Mahathir Mohamad[23] Malaysia Malaysia Prime Minister of Malaysia
2019 Colonel General Zakir Hasanov[24]  Azerbaijan Minister of Defence

Foreign contingents[]

Year Contingent Country
1956 Janissary Military Band Turkey Turkey
1956 Iran Military Contingent Iran Iran
1956 Turkish Military Contingent Turkey Turkey
1997 Janissary Military Band Turkey Turkey
2017 Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion China China
2017 Janissary Military band[25] Turkey Turkey
2018 Saudi Arabian Special Forces Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia
2018 UAE elite unit[26] United Arab Emirates UAE
2018 Jordanian Armed Forces Band Jordan Jordan
2019 Azerbaijan Army  Azerbaijan
2019 People's Liberation Army Air Force China China
2019 Turkish Air Force Turkey Turkey
2019 Saudi Arabian Army (Paratroopers) Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia
2019 Royal Bahraini Army (Paratroopers) Bahrain Bahrain
2019 Royal Brunei Land Forces (Paratroopers) Brunei Brunei
2019 Sri Lanka Army (Paratroopers) Sri Lanka Sri Lanka

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Pakistan Day parade". 24 February 2005.
  2. ^ "Relive Pakistan Day: 1940 – 2000". 23 March 2015.
  3. ^ "'Coup crushed' in Pakistan", Vancouver Sun, March 11, 1980, p1
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b DAWN.com (23 March 2015). "Pakistan holds first Republic Day parade in seven years". Dawn News, 2015. Dawn. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Pakistan holds first national day parade for seven years". BBC News. 23 March 2015.
  6. ^ "Pakistan Plans to Hold Republic Day Parade in March". Wall Street Journal. 2 February 2015.
  7. ^ Pakistan marks National Day with first military parade in seven years
  8. ^ In the face of terror: Pakistan shows off military prowess
  9. ^ "Pakistan military holds first Republic Day parade in seven years". Reuters.
  10. ^ "Pakistan Holds First Republic Day Parade in Years".
  11. ^ "Pakistan Day Parade cancelled amid coronavirus fears". 13 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Pakistan pilot dies after F-16 jet crashes during rehearsal".
  13. ^ "Pakistani fighter jet crashes during parade rehearsal; pilot killed".
  14. ^ "Shocking Video Shows Pakistani F-16 Crashing in Islamabad during rehearsal for the Pakistan Day Parade". 11 March 2020.
  15. ^ Siddiqui, Naveed (2021-03-22). "Pakistan Day parade postponed due to 'inclement weather and rains': ISPR". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  16. ^ Muhammad Tariq, Sardar; Jehangir Raja, Asif (April 2015). "Spirits Rekindled - Joint Staff Pakistan Day Parade - 2015". hilal.gov.pk. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  17. ^ "PAF to seek more Chinese aircraft, says air chief". The News International. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  18. ^ JF-17 Thunder main focus of attention at Pak Day fly-past Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Pak Tribune, 24 March 2007.
  19. ^ https://www.pakarmymuseum.com/exhibits/history-of-army-school-of-music/
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b Dawn.com (24 March 2015). "Relive Pakistan Day: 1940 – 2000". Dawn archives, 2015. Dawn archives. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  21. ^ "Pakistan Parade 3 | AP Archive".
  22. ^ "Nation celebrates Pakistan Day 2018 with military parade, gun salutes". Dawn. March 23, 2018.
  23. ^ "Pakistan Day celebrations: Civil-military leaders, foreign dignitaries attend military parade in Islamabad". Dawn. March 23, 2019.
  24. ^ "Azerbaijani Military contingent attended Pakistan Day Parade along with Defence Minister Colonel General Zakir Hasanov". 23 March 2019.
  25. ^ "Saudi Arabia, Chinese and Turkish Military contingents to participate in Pakistan Day parade on". Timesofislamabad.com. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  26. ^ "UAE troops to participate in Pakistan Day parade". Arab News. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
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