Malaysian premier Mahathir to be chief guest at Pakistan Day parade
Various contingents from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, China, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Turkey will participate in the parade.
Maj-Gen Asif Ghafoor, Director-General of ISPR
islamabad — The chief spokesman of the Pakistani military on Wednesday confirmed that Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will be the chief guest at the annual Pakistan Day parade on March 23.
The parade — which is held every year to mark the anniversary of historic Pakistan Resolution passed on March 23, 1940 — will also have the Azerbaijan defence minister, the Bahrain army chief and several contingents from China, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Turkey in attendance.
“Turkish and Chinese warplanes will also showcase an aerial performance,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Asif Ghafoor disclosed on his official Twitter handle.
“Contingents of troops of Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia will participate in the parade while paratroopers from Sri Lanka will take part in free-fall jumps,” Asif Ghafoor wrote.
The Pakistani High Commissioner in Malaysia, Mohammad Nafees Zakaria, called on Mahathir Mohamad in November last and extended an invitation to attend Pakistan’s National Day parade which was, subsequently, accepted by his office.
During the Pakistan Day parade in 2018, senior Indian military officials and diplomats posted in Islamabad had also attended the event.
Pakistan Day is celebrated on March 23 throughout the country to mark the signing of the Pakistan Resolution by the All India Muslim League in 1940 at Lahore’s Minto Park. —