Pakistan Day: Islamabad to show military muscle in March 23 parade

KARACHI: Islamabad is all set to hold Pakistan Day military parade on March 23 in the federal capital.

Armed forces parade is part of the  celebrations on Pakistan Day which commemorates the Lahore resolution passed on March 23 in 1940.

This year Malayisian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad will be the guest of honor on the ocassion.  

He was invited by Prime Minister Imran Khan when he visited Malaysia last year.

Defence Defender Minister of Azerbaijan, Bahrain’s Chief of Army Staff and Omani officials as well as delegations from China and other countries will also attend the military parade.

According to Military Spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor troops from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, China, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Turkey will participate in the parade.

The Pakistan Day parade would be  held amid tight security arrangements with  airspace of the federal capital closed between March 19 and 23.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), media wing of the army, on Tuesday released a video ahead of the Pakistan Day parade.

The video posted by ISPR DG Major General Asif Ghafoor shows showbiz stars chant Pakistan Zindabad (Long Live Pakistan ).

The stars include Shafqat Amanat Ali, Humayun Saeed, Fahad Mustafa, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Shaan Shahid, Naheed Akhtar and others.

The March 23 parade comes days after Pakistan and India reached on the brink of war after New Delhi carried out airstrikes in Pakistan.

India claimed hundreds of militants were killed in the strikes, a claim that Islamabad denied and vowed to hit back at the timing and place of its choosing.

A day later Pakistan shot down two Indian aircraft and captured one of the pilots. Prime Minister Imran Khan announced to release the pilot as peace gesture.

As the tensions spiked between the two countries,the Pakistan Navy detected an Indian sub-marine and  stopped it from entring its waters.