Pakistan Day parade: Guarding national security

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Confidence in our defenders

  

The Pakistani nation observed acts of valour and courage on the 23rd of March, 2015, witnessing the revival of the national parade after a seven year hiatus. Our country has been a ground for terrorism for a decade now and the populace has been suffering because of it. The aim of this republic parade is unblemished, telling the nation and the world that the war on terrorism is underway with suitable tactics. This, however, has been tough for the country and it has suffered its worst fears in history. The recent Peshawar attack, attacks on imambargahs, mosques and churches are a clear depiction of acts of brutality and mercilessness.

Military forces have become increasingly important as facilitators of their government’s foreign policy; taking part in peacekeeping operations, military exercises and humanitarian relief missions. Unfortunately, our army is the only component state institution that possesses a strong side at present that is operational and unbreakable so far in eradicating terrorism. The army infinitely showed its strength while conducting the national parade by displaying a daring demonstration including various weapons, fighter jets, battle field tanks, etc, and gave our country a new reason to be hopeful, which seemed to have been lost in these past years. Not only was it necessary for the people of Pakistan but indispensible for the rest of the world to recognise that Pakistan is surely working its way up in diminishing terrorism.

The recent Peshawar attack, attacks on imambargahs, mosques and churches are a clear depiction of acts of brutality and mercilessness

Psychologically speaking, any stressful and depressive emotions that trigger after a violent attack are extremely distressing. These terrorist activities altogether have negative implications on the lives of people, hampering their daily routines. The ramifications of a deadly incident are severe triggering fear, panic and chaos among the populace causing distress and disturbance. Our country has been through enough traumatic experiences in the past, thus, witnessing the parade on national TV was definitely a stress buster and relief, by viewing this talent of bravery we know now that no matter what transpires against us in the future, our nation has soldiers, sailors and airmen defending the right we all stand for and that their overriding objective would always be to protect Pakistan’s national security.

Legally speaking, The Geneva Convention 1949, along with the Additional Protocols and related refugee law detail the specific protection of civilians in the midst of armed conflict and internal unrest. IHL requires armed groups to distinguish between civilians and combatants and between civilian objects and military goals in a way that avoids or minimises injury to and death of civilians and damage to civilian objects such as a place of worship, a school or a water facility. It is however clear that those civil rights are protected and cared for in extreme situations like wars, killings or any political unrest of some sort.

Psychologically speaking, any stressful and depressive emotions that trigger after a violent attack are extremely distressing

In my perspective, our military force is vital to the fabric of the nation and will always be the ultimate defender of our country and its people. They protect our interests overseas and play a key role here at home to ensure that we are as prepared as we can be to respond to security risks, be they natural disasters or terrorist-related activities and work effortlessly to make our country a safe haven. Pakistan’s military day in and day out protects the state at the Indian border and has been deployed in the FATA/PATA area to combat terrorism. This national parade has shown us and the world that there are specialists focused on exterminating and getting rid of terrorists from the country at any cost. Be it the hanging sentences or air raids, the nation needs to work on similar effective strategies in eradicating violence to promote peace that was stolen years ago.

The bond between the military force and the nation has never been as close as it is now. The respect for soldiers has tremendously amplified in the previous year, giving an idea to the inhabitants and rest of the world that the country has substantial policies and tactics to abolish militancy and other terrorist activities within the region therefore the nation should be confident of the fact that our security is the hands of highly trained personnel who are willing to risk their lives for the sake of their country.