Pakistan Day Parade 2015

Pakistan Day Parade 2015 was a military parade held on 23rd March 2015 to commemorate 75 years since the Lahore Resolution of 1940. The parade was held after gap of 7 years because of growing wave of terrorism, however the decision to hold the parade was held after the launch of a mass anti-terrorism operation by the Pakistan Army. It was widely seen as a rather successful attempt to boost the self-confidence to general public.^[1][2]

The three-hour parade featured all three service branches, the Army, Navy, and Air Force — including the army’s strategic command force, which administers land-based nuclear weapons arsenal. The parade featured nuclear-capable and conventional missiles, indigenously manufactured tanks, and a squadron of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets along with Pakistan’s first locally manufactured armed unmanned aerial vehicle. It was overseen by Mamnoon Hussain and Nawaz Sharif.^[3][4]

The parade was welcomed by national media outlets, Dawn called the parade as an 'highly-anticipated' event^[5] while Pakistan Today called the event as crucial to refreshing nation’s patriotism.^[6] Indian news outlet NDTV joined Reuters in calling the parade as sending a message to neighboring India.^[7] The Guardian called the revival of the military parade after a seven year marking a further step in the rehabilitation of the army after a dismal period.^[8] An opinion piece in The New York Times highlighted the fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping didn't attend the event.^[9]

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