Pakistan Day Parade

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.

Soldiers from the Mujahid Force during the parade in 2016.

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 midigate 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.

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.[15] 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.[16][17]

Bands from the armed forces that are present include the Pakistan Military Academy Band (PMA Band),[18] 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:

YearOfficerUnitNotes
1983Brigadier Nasir Mehmood1st Punjab Regiment.
1987Brigadier Afzal Janjua SJFF RegtLater Lt. Gen.
1989Brigadier Yasub Dogar2 FF Regiment (Guides)
1996Brigadier Naveed Nasr17 Punjab RegimentAlso commanded 70 Punjab
1997Brigadier Javed Iqbal18 Field RegimentMS to Nawaz Sharif in 1999
1998Brigadier Akram SahiFF RegtLater Maj. Gen.
1999Brigadier Khalid Nawaz Janjua3 Baluch RegtLater Lt. Gen.
20xxBrigadier Badar MunirAK Regt
2005Brigadier Naushad KianiPunjab RegtLater Maj. Gen.
2007Brigadier Tariq GhafoorFF RegtLater Maj. Gen.
2008Brigadier Ihsan ul HaqLater Maj. Gen.
2015Brigadier Khurram Sarfaraz27 Baluch Regt
2016Brigadier Amir Majeed29 AK Regt
2017Brigadier Amer Ahsan Nawaz3 Baluch RegtNow Lt. Gen.
2018Brigadier Amer Amin19 FF Regt

Foreign representation

Foreign dignitaries who have attended the parade

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

YearForeign dignitary
Guest of Honour
CountryNotes
1985General Rudini[19] IndonesiaChief of staff Indonesian Army
1987Robert Mugabe ZimbabwePresident of Zimbabwe
1996Cassam Uteem[19] MauritiusPresident of Mauritius
1997 OIC Heads of States OIC Members To attend Extra-Ordinary OIC Summit
2005 Hamid Karzai  Afghanistan President of Afghanistan[20]
2018Maithripala Sirisena[21] Sri LankaPresident of Sri Lanka
2019Mahathir Mohamad[22] MalaysiaPrime Minister of Malaysia
2019Colonel General Zakir Hasanov[23] AzerbaijanMinister of Defence

Foreign contingents

YearContingentCountry
1956Janissary Military Band Turkey
1956Iran Military Contingent Iran
1956Turkish Military Contingent Turkey
1997Janissary Military Band Turkey
2017Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion China
2017Janissary Military band[24] Turkey
2018Saudi Arabian Special Forces Saudi Arabia
2018UAE elite unit[25] UAE
2018Jordanian Armed Forces Band Jordan
2019Azerbaijan Army Azerbaijan
2019People's Liberation Army Air Force China
2019Turkish Air Force Turkey
2019Saudi Arabian Army (Paratroopers) Saudi Arabia
2019Royal Bahraini Army (Paratroopers) Bahrain
2019Royal Brunei Land Forces (Paratroopers) Brunei
2019Sri Lanka Army (Paratroopers) Sri Lanka

See also

References

  1. https://www.dawn.com/news/383595
  2. https://www.dawn.com/news/1171374
  3. "'Coup crushed' in Pakistan", Vancouver Sun, March 11, 1980, p1
  4. DAWN.com (23 March 2015). "Pakistan holds first Republic Day parade in seven years". Dawn News, 2015. Dawn. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  5. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32014076
  6. https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/pakistan-plans-to-hold-republic-day-parade-in-march-1422906257
  7. Pakistan marks National Day with first military parade in seven years
  8. In the face of terror: Pakistan shows off military prowess
  9. https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN0MJ05X20150323
  10. https://www.rferl.org/amp/pakistan-republic-day/26915153.html
  11. https://www.geo.tv/amp/277199-government-decides-to-cancel-pakistan-day-parade-amid-coronavirus-fears
  12. https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2020/03/pakistan-air-force-16-jet-crashes-parade-rehearsal-200311071311372.html
  13. https://www.upi.com/amp/Top_News/World-News/2020/03/11/Pakistani-fighter-jet-crashes-during-parade-rehearsal-pilot-killed/9601583921336/
  14. https://theaviationgeekclub.com/shocking-video-shows-pakistani-f-16-crashing-in-islamabad-during-rehearsal-for-the-pakistan-day-parade/
  15. Muhammad Tariq, Sardar; Jehangir Raja, Asif (April 2015). "Spirits Rekindled - Joint Staff Pakistan Day Parade - 2015". hilal.gov.pk. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  16. "PAF to seek more Chinese aircraft, says air chief". The News International. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  17. 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.
  18. https://www.pakarmymuseum.com/exhibits/history-of-army-school-of-music/
  19. Dawn.com (24 March 2015). "Relive Pakistan Day: 1940 – 2000". Dawn archives, 2015. Dawn archives. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  20. http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/9961ff644aafad4e0b9f152c8cfd66d8
  21. "Nation celebrates Pakistan Day 2018 with military parade, gun salutes". Dawn. March 23, 2018.
  22. "Pakistan Day celebrations: Civil-military leaders, foreign dignitaries attend military parade in Islamabad". Dawn. March 23, 2019.
  23. https://dnd.com.pk/azerbaijani-military-contingent-attended-pakistan-day-parade-along-with-defence-minister-colonel-general-zakir-hasanov/163120/amp
  24. "Saudi Arabia, Chinese and Turkish Military contingents to participate in Pakistan Day parade on". Timesofislamabad.com. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  25. "UAE troops to participate in Pakistan Day parade". Arab News. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
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