Pakistan's National Day Celebrations Showcase Military Might

Pakistan celebrated its national day amid a display of the country's military might at a parade in the capital Islamabad.

The traditional military parade, aired on the state-run Pakistan Television, was held in the Shakarparian parade ground and attended by President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and services chiefs, while Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud also participated in the ceremony as a guest of honor.

Several units from Pakistan’s army, air force, and navy participated in the parade, with fighter jets, including JF-17s and F-16s, flying past the crowds.

The nuclear-capable missiles Shaheen I, II, and III, along with Ghouri, Babar, and Nasr missiles, were also displayed.

Contingents of Azerbaijani and Chinese militaries also took part in the parade.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Zardari said Pakistan wants good relations with all its neighbors, but warned that Islamabad will not compromise its sovereignty.

The day dawned with a 31-gun salute in Islamabad and a 21-gun salute in all four provincial capitals, followed by change-of-guards ceremonies at the mausoleums of Quaid-I-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of the South Asian nation, in the port city of Karachi, and the mausoleum of Allama Mohammad Iqbal, a national poet, in the northeastern city of Lahore.

Similar ceremonies were also held in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Held annually in Lahore, the event commemorates the 1940 independence resolution -- commonly known as the Pakistan Resolution -- which demanded for the first time an independent state, comprising Muslim-majority states in the then-United India under British colonial rule.

The passing of the landmark resolution subsequently led to the creation of Pakistan on Aug. 14, 1947, marking the end of over 150 years of British colonial rule.