On March 23, the “Pakistan Resolution Day” or “Republic Day” (Urdu: or یومپاکستان, or Yaum-e-Pakistan) was celebrated in Islamabad. The national day commemorates the Lahore Resolution of March 23, 1940 and the adoption of Pakistan’s first constitution during the transition of the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on March 23, 1956. As usual, the celebrations also included a large military parade, which this year also featured a number of new products.
The parade consisted of marching columns of the infantry regiments of the Pakistan Army from Punjab, Baloch, Frontier Force, Sindh Regiment, Northern Light Infantry, Frontier Corps, the flag bearing contingent, Punjab Rangers, Mujahid Regiment, Pakistan Coast Guards, Balochistan Levies, a Pakistani police contingent led by the Sindh Police, a light commando battalion of the Azad Kashmir Regiment, the Special Services Group (SSG), the Pakistan Navy and Air Force, the women’s officer contingent consisting of tri-services personnel and other paramilitary forces. Also present was the – protracted – Al-Khalid-1 main battle tank as well as the Shaheen-III medium-range ballistic missile (range officially around 2,700 kilometers), which was tested for the first time in 2015 (Pakistan is a nuclear power). Guest contingents also marched past from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Uzbekistan. The highlight of the following air meeting was the new Chinese fighter aircraft Chengdu J-10C (we reported on its arrival days earlier). The Chief of Air Staff (PAF), Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu led the formations in an F-16/52, flanked by J-10Cs and the Pakistani-Chinese home-built JF-17 Thunder, followed by Mirage-III/5 jets, C-130 and P3-C Orion as well as Swedish and Chinese AWACS aircraft. The final display was made up of individual displays by JF-17 and F-16 pilots. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cUR_KmFHi0
