Pakistan Day: Parade grips locals in patriotic fervour

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Day parade held in the capital on Wednesday gripped residents of the city in patriotic fervour.

Organised at the Parade Ground near scenic Shakarparian the event was attended by people belonging to all walks of life.

A large number of residents also brought their children to the event to celebrate the day.

Dressed in colourful national outfits, they watched the joint military parade and waved national flags when the armed forces demonstrated their combat prowess.



As the ceremony began, students from various schools, waving the national flag, walk around the parade ground.

They also sung national songs specially written for the occasion.

Kinza Batool, 7, says she came to show her support for the armed forces.

Batool, who wants to become a fighter jet pilot, said it was her desire to join the Pakistan Air Force after completing her studies.

Nauman Safdar, a grade five student at a local school, said that not only him but his two siblings wanted to join the Pakistan Army. He said he and his siblings wanted to defend and serve the motherland.

Most of the children who attended the event were dressed in traditional green-coloured outfits.



The major attractions for the children were the flypast and the sky-diving, performed by the personnel of all three armed services. As the sky divers touched the parade ground, children clapped loudly and raised slogans.

It was a wonderful day, commented Hasnat Naveed as the ceremony concluded.

Hasnat, 11, said, he would remember the day for the rest of his life as he had never seen such a wonderful ceremony.

He said that he would ask his parents to bring him again next year.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2016.