Pakistan Day, 23rd March parade postponed due to rainy weather

The Pakistan Day parade scheduled to be held tomorrow (Tuesday) has been postponed due to the “rainy weather” forecast for the next two days, according to the military's media wing’s statement on Monday.

The parade is now scheduled to be held on March 25, as per Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

It stated, "The Joint Services Pakistan Day Parade will now be held on 25th March 2021 according to the program and timings already specified".

Pakistan Day celebrates across the country to honour the passing of the Lahore Resolution on March 23, 1940, when the All-India Muslim League demanded a separate nation for the Muslims of the British Indian Empire.

The day usually starts with a 31-gun salute in Islamabad whereas provincial capitals mark it with 21-gun salutes. The Pakistan Day military parade is held in Islamabad at Parade Ground near the Shakarparian hills. The annual parade is attended by civil and military leadership as well as foreign VIPs. Fly-past demonstrations are also part of this ceremony.

The parade also displays the local cultures of the country’s provinces. Cultural delegates from Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir are also presented during the ceremony.

However, last year's celebrations were cut down due to the coronavirus pandemic as leaders vowed to fight the Covid-19 epidemic in the country.

Concerns regarding this year's celebrations also raised as well as the third wave of the new coronavirus increased in the country and over 3,000 new cases were reported for the last five days.

However, according to Minister for Planning Asad Umar, there was no plan to cancel or limit the Pakistan Day parade.

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He said, "We have already considered all preparations and SOPs during the parade and it will be held with the usual enthusiasm. But we have observed that the provincial administrative units and Islamabad are not implementing the SOPs strictly, so, they have all been instructed to ensure their implementation."