Today on March 23rd, 2022 the Pakistani nation celebrated Pakistan day. It was a very special day for the whole Pakistani nation as the participants of the 48th session of OIC-CFM also joined these celebrations in the Federal capital, Islamabad. The OIC- CFMs witnessed the main event of the day, the Pakistan Day parade, as guests of honor. The start of the day was marked by a 21-guns salute in all the provincial capitals and a 31-guns salute in the federal capital of the country. The theme of this year’s parade was “Shaad Rahay Pakistan”. The parade was performed in the Shakar Parian Parade Ground, Islamabad. The President of Pakistan Mr. Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Mr. Imran Khan, the Chief of Army Staff Mr. General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and other distinguished heads of the Pakistan Armed Forces also graced the parade with their presence. The President and the Prime Minister also address the nation on this occasion. Through the parade, the armed forces of Pakistan displayed their military prowess in front of the whole world. The contingents of the armed forces conducted a march past. These contingents filled the whole atmosphere with patriotism.
The Pakistan Day Parade commenced with the recitation of the Holy Quran. After the recitation of the Quran, the President of Pakistan Mr. Arif Alvi greeted the armed forces contingents and admired their preparations.
FlyPast: The formal proceedings of the Pakistan Day Parade began with the flypast by the Pakistan Air force. The highlight of this fly-past was the inclusion of the 4.5+ generation J-10-C fighter jets. These latest fighter jets J-10-C were included in the Pakistan Air Force a couple of days back. This was the first time that these fighter jets took part in the Pakistan Day Parade. This J-10-C along with F-16 jets performed linear-bombers and saluted the President of Pakistan. The head of Pakistan Air Force, Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu lead this fly-past, as per the traditions. Mairaj and F-16 fighter jets were the next to approach the venue and saluted the President in their unique style. The formations of J-F-17 thunder, Mairaj aircraft aka the Zarrars, F-7-BG aircraft, F-7-B aircraft from the shooter squadron were the next to reach the venue for the flypast. The most awaited and highly anticipated formation of the J-10-C fighter aircraft then graced the venue with their presence. More formations of the Pakistan Air Force planes presented flypast later on.
Address to the nation: After the flypast performed by our formidable air force, President of Pakistan Mr. Arif Alvi addressed the nation. He said we are a responsible atomic power that desires peace with all the nations. He also exclaimed that we will never compromise on our security and sovereignty and anyone who shows aggression will be given a befitting response.
March-past by the Pakistan Armed Forces: The flag bearer contingents of the Pakistani armed forces started off the march-past while the armed forces music bands played patriotic tunes in the backdrop. Next to present the march-past was the different contingents of the armed forces like Sindh regiment, Shindoor regiment, FC Balochistan, Pakistan Rangers Punjab, Navy regiment, Mujahid regiment of Kashmir, Pakistan Coast guard regiment, Balochistan Leyvies regiment, and the Pakistan Police contingents. The contingent of the tri-services lady officers was the next to do the march past. Tri-services music band presented the march past after that. The next to present the march past was the contingents of the highly anticipated, the bravest of the braves, tri-services SSG (Special Services Group), and light commando battalion. These contingents presented the march past in their own unique and amazing style by chanting the slogan of Allah Hoo!
Foreign Armed Forces Contingents: The contingent of the Special Operations Unit (SOU) of Bahrain national guards was the next to present the march past. The contingent of Uzbekistan armed forces also presented the march past. This is the first time that this contingent took part in the Pakistan Day Parade. The contingent of Azerbaijan armed forces was the next to present the march past. Turk armed forces contingent was the next to present the march past. Turk army is the world’s 8th largest army. Next to enter the venue was the contingent of the Royal Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia.
The contingents of the Pakistan Boys Scouts and the Pakistan Girls Guides also presented the march past.
Tri-forces contingents: Armored core regiment, the core of mechanized infantry, the contingent of the core of artillery, Pakistan army air defense contingent, the core of engineers, the core of signals, air defense core of the Pakistan air force, and the core of strategic forces contingents were the next to present the march past. Aviators of the Pakistan Amy Aviation, Pakistan Navy, and Pakistan Air Force then presented the beautiful display of fly-past. Pakistan Air Force then presented the amazing display of air acrobatics. This fine display was lauded by all the participants of the Pakistan Day Parade.
The contingent of Floats: Towards the end, different floats representing the Pakistani provinces entered the parade venue. The highlight of these floats was the float of OIC. This is the first time that the OIC float took part in this parade. Floats of Jammu and Kashmir, Balochistan float, Gilgit Baltistan float, float of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the float of Punjab province, and the float of Sindh province also presented the march past. The float that entered the last was the float of ISPR. It was named after the theme of the Pakistan Day Parade “Shaad Rahay Pakistan!” The famous Pakistani singers Shuja Haider and Yashal Shahid performed the newly released ISPR song for Pakistan Day 2022, Shaad Rahay Pakistan.
With this special performance, the Pakistan Day Parade 2022 came to its end. Long Live Pakistan!