Land, water and air celebrations galore in Karachi

Spectacular air show and rallies held across city

Karachi celebrated the Pakistan Day on Thursday with a variety of activities including an air show, a boat rally, festivities outside the press club, etc – the holiday commemorating the passage of the Lahore Resolution on March 23, 1940.

The day began in Karachi with a 21-gun salute. To pay homage to the father of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair, along with the members of the provincial cabinet, visited the Mazar-e-Quaid, laid floral wreaths there and offered fateha.

The representatives of the three services also visited the mausoleum. On behalf of the citizens of Karachi, mayor Waseem Akhtar and deputy mayor Arshad Vohra visited the Mazar-e-Quaid.

The governor later witnessed the Pakistan Air Force’s air show and flypast at Sea View beach.

PAF pilots participated in the event flying F-16s, JF-17 Thunders, Mirages and other fighter jets.

Zubair said on this resolution day, Pakistanis should renew their resolve to completely eliminate terrorism and observe solidarity, unity and consensus at the national level

“It is high time that personal interests are set aside for giving utmost preference to the solidarity and unity of the country,” he added.

The governor said it was leadership of the Quaid-e-Azam that had enabled the Muslims of the Subcontinent to secure a separate homeland for them against all odds. He said the independence of Pakistan was secured after several sacrifices and an extraordinary movement.

The governor met the PAF pilots who had participated in the flypast and air show. Air Officer Commanding Air Vice Marshal Salman Ahsan Bukhari was also present on the occasion. Later, a ceremony was also held at the PAF Museum where the family of Flt. Lt. Afzal Jamal Siddiqui Shaheed, a hero of the 1971 war, laid a floral wreath at the Yadgar-e-Shuhda.

Celebrations outside KPC

The Ocean Welfare Organisation, and NGO, and the Pakistan People’s Party organised rallies outside the Karachi Press Club to observe the Resolution Day.

The participants of the Ocean Welfare Organisation rally sang and danced, holding national flags.

The PPP rally, organised by the party’s elders committee, mainly included residents of Lyari.

Boat rallies

The Pak Fishermen Welfare Association (PFWA) arranged a Pakistan Zindabad boat rally at sea to mark the day. Around a 100 boats were used in the rally headed by PFWA founder and general secretary Arshad Sardar.

The participants sang national songs and chanted “Long live Pakistan” throughout the rally.

Speaking on the occasion, Sardar said by staging this rally, the Bangla-speaking Pakistanis had again proved that they too were patriotic and would not shy away from rendering any sacrifice for Pakistan’s stability.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Sindh chapter also organised a boat rally. The event was inaugurated at Ibrahim Hyderi by PTI Sindh senior vice president Haleem Adil Sheikh. A large number of boats decorated with the national and PTI flags were used in the rally.

Party activists and their children dressed in white and green participated in the rally singing national songs.