Sept 6 to be celebrated with simplicity

ISLAMABAD: The government has directed the armed forces to postpone all ceremonies in connection with the Pakistan Defence Day, adding that all expenditures that were to be incurred for holding the ceremonies should be diverted to the flood victims’ relief fund.

In Sialkot, the National Defence Day will be observed with simplicity but with traditional zeal, fervour and enthusiasm with a renewed pledge to sacrifice lives for upholding the prestige of Pakistan and to pay homage to all the martyrs and Ghazis of the September 6, 1965 Indo-Pak War.

The day will dawn with special prayers in all the mosques for national solidarity, integrity, prosperity and peace.

The main Hilal-e-Istaqlal hoisting ceremony will be held at historical Sialkot Fort under the auspices of Sialkot Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA), where the people and Pakistan Army personnel will hoist the Hilal-e-Istaqlal, which was conferred upon to the people of Sialkot, who wrote a golden history of bravery by sacrificing their lives for defending the motherland near Sialkot during the 1965 war.

Sialkot-based senior army officials said that the Defence Day of Pakistan reminds us of the indomitable courage and unmatched sacrifices of officers who 44 years ago proved to the world that the defence of Pakistan was unassailable.

They said that September 6 stands out as a symbol of our enduring display of unity, faith and discipline as a nation.

Social, political, religious and civil society organisations will hold a rally from Sialkot’s congested Allama Iqbal Chowk to Chawinda, besides laying floral wreaths on the graves of the martyrs.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2010.