The Defence Day was celebrated with traditional fervour and simplicity in the Lahore Garrison on Tuesday to commemorate the heroic deeds of the Pakistan Army in defence of the motherland during the 1965 war. The day-long celebrations started with Quran Khawani, while special prayers were offered for the sovereignty, solidarity and integrity of Pakistan after Fajr prayers. The day dawned with hoisting of the national flag on all formation headquarters, units and army installations. A ceremony was held at Allama Iqbal’s mausoleum to pay homage to the national poet, which was attended by civil and military officials. Garrison Commander Major General Malik Zafar Iqbal laid a floral wreath and offered fateha.
A contingent of the Pakistan Rangers Punjab presented a salute.
A special ceremony was held at the grave of Major Shabbir Sharif Nishan-e-Haider to pay homage and commemorate his sacrifice. General Officer Commanding Major General Azeem Asif along with Sharif’s family laid a floral wreath and offered fateha. A smartly turned out contingent of the Frontier Force Regiment presented a salute. People from all walks of life kept on visiting the grave throughout the day to pay their respect to the great war hero.
Similar ceremonies were also held at the Army Graveyard Lahore Cantt, Yadger-e-Shuhada, Batapur and Gunj-e-Shuhada near Kasur, where floral wreaths were laid on the memorial of Brigadier Ahsan Rashid Shami Hilal-e-Jurrat and graves of other martyrs. Later, a reception was hosted by Lahore Corps Commander Lieutenant General Rashid Mahmood in honour of war veterans.
A special Hilal-e-Istiqlal flag hoisting ceremony was held at Town Hall, Lahore under auspices of the City District Government Lahore (CDGL). The Hilal-e-Istiqlal flag was awarded to people of Lahore for the courage they demonstrated during the 1965 war. Several educational, cultural and literary institutions also arranged programmes for the day.
Defence Day passes silently: The 46th Defence Day apparently passed with silence and except a few formal messages it was not observed officially.
In Lahore, no notable ceremony was held to mark the day except change of guards at Allama Iqbal’s mausoleum. Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, in his message on Defence Day, said that the celebration was a reflection that Pakistan was a peace-loving country. President Asif Ali Zardari, in his Defence Day message, urged the people to reiterate the resolve to demonstrate the spirit of September 1965 in meeting new challenges.
Analysts said that dictators wanted to celebrate this day with zeal and fervour to help them prolong their rule but the last dictator felt otherwise and abandoned the official celebrations of the day. Ayub Khan, to lengthen his rule and get public support, attempted to liberate Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) by sending commandos in 1965 but failed and retaliating to that move India started war at western front of the Pakistani border, history teacher Nauman Khan said. Zia promoted the day as Defence Day for the same purpose of getting public support but Musharraf ignored it because he found it useless, he said.