Chinese, Turkish troops to take part in 'Pakistan Day' parade

Chinese and Turkish troops will for the first time take part in the 'Pakistan Day' parade to be held here next week.

Military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said that foreign troops from friendly countries of China and Turkey will be part in this year's parade.

"Chinese Army Troops and Turkish Military Band will participate in the parade," Ghafoor tweeted.

It is for the time that foreign troops are taking part in the 'Pakistan Day' parade, a defence official said.

The armed forces parade accompanied by the exhibition of military hardware and cultural floats are the key highlights of annual celebrations on March 23 to commemorate the 'Lahore Resolution' of 1940 that vowed to set up a separate country.

The parade is organised by Joint Staff Headquarters which oversees the three armed forces of Pakistan and soldiers from the army, navy and air force take part in it.

The parade was started in 2015 after a gap of seven years when it was kept suspended due to the threat of militancy.

Officials said that special security measures have been put in place in Islamabad, where the parade will be held.

Apart from commemorating the Lahore Resolution of March 23 1940, the parade also marks the day when Pakistan was declared a republic in 1956 with the adoption of the first democratic Constitution.