Defence Day (

ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...

: ) is celebrated in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

as a national day to commemorate the sacrifices made by Pakistani soldiers in defending its borders.

Taha Siddiqui Taha Siddiqui is a Pakistani-born journalist based in Paris. He is an active critic of the military of Pakistan. Early life and career He is a graduate of Institute of Business Administration, Karachi. Calling himself an "accidental journalist" ...

Dear Pakistanis, this Defence Day, please stop celebrating hate
Al Jazeera, 6 September 2018. The date of 6 September marks the day in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

when Indian troops crossed the

international border Borders are generally defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ...

to launch an attack on

Pakistani Punjab Punjab (, ) is a province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the most populous province in Pakistan and the second most populous subnational polity in the world. Located in the central-eastern region of the country, i ...

in a

riposte In fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most ...

to Pakistan's

Operation Grand Slam Operation Grand Slam was a key military operation of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. It refers to a plan drawn up by the Pakistan Army in May 1965, that consisted of an attack on the vital Akhnoor Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The br ...

targeting

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

. While it is officially commemorated as an unprovoked surprise attack by India, repulsed by the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

despite its smaller size and fewer armaments, the narrative has been criticised by Pakistani commentators as representing false history.

Context of the 1965 War

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 began with Pakistan sending

Mujahid ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...

into the

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley in northern Jammu and Kashmir, a region in Indian-administered Kashmir.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcont ...

to incite the population into rebellion and dislocate the local installations. In the second stage, on 1 September, it launched a tank attack, dubbed

, towards the Akhnoor bridge in the

Jammu Division The Jammu division (; ) is a Divisions of India, revenue and administrative division of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to t ...

. It was intended to be a "short and swift,

fait accompli Many words in the English vocabulary are of French language, French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman conquest of England, Norman ...

operation." According to scholar Shuja Nawaz, the Pakistani military intended to capture the Akhnoor bridge and swing towards

to cut off India's communications with Kashmir Valley. The Pakistanis had ignored the

Indian Prime Minister The prime minister of India (ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the e ...

's (then

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; born Lal Bahadur Srivastava; 2 October 190411 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1964 to 1966. He previously served as Minister ...

's) warnings that India would retaliate against Pakistan if Kashmir were attacked. On 6 September, according to its "pre-declared strategy" of

, the Indian Army crossed the international border in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, intending to cut off the

Grand Trunk Road Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sadak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sadak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It r ...

near

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. Another Indian objective was to capture the

Lahore Cantonment Lahore Cantonment () is a garrison located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Although the cantonment is located within Lahore City District (UC 152), it is an independent municipality under control of the Military Lands & Cantonments Department of ...

. The attack came as a surprise to the Pakistani commanders. According to Air Marshal

Nur Khan Nur Khan (22 February 192315 December 2011) was a Pakistan Air Force officer, politician and statesman who served as sixth commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Air Force from 1965 to 1969. He later served as the sixth governor of West Pakistan ...

, Army Chief General Musa Khan told

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Muhammad Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, comm ...

on the second day of the war that the Army had run out of ammunition. However, the statement given by Air Marshal Nur Khan was challenged by the Indian commanders themselves Lt. Gen Harwant Singh himself stated that the heaviest firing by the Pakistan Army was started after the ceasefire. He states that the Army suffered heavy losses in the war. On 23 September, Pakistan accepted a UN-mandated ceasefire. Pakistan instituted the Defence of Pakistan Day to commemorate the day when the Indian forces crossed into Pakistan. The Pakistan official narrative states that,

" heIndian forces sneaked icinto the Wagah border, and the Pakistan armed forces, when alerted, put up a valiant defence of the motherland and drove them back, thus taking its name as the Defence of Pakistan Day."

Air Marshal Nur Khan commented,

"It was a wrong war, and they misled the nation with a big lie that India, rather than Pakistan, had provoked the war and that we (Pakistanis) were the victims of the Indian aggression."

Celebrations and Parades

The

displays its latest missiles, tanks, guns,

Pakistan Army Aviation The Pakistan Army Corps of Aviation is a Military administration, military administrative and combined arms service Military branch, branch of the Pakistan Army. The Aviation Corps is tasked with configuration of all army aviation aircraft a ...

helicopters, and armaments used by Engineers, Electrical and Mechanical Corps, Army

Air Defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

, Signals, Army Service Corps, and the

Army Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of med ...

. Everyone is allowed to watch such functions live by going to specific places. These shows are also displayed on national TV channels. National songs, special documentaries about 6 September 1965, and the stories of the people killed that day are displayed on TV. On this day, a change of guard ceremony takes place at

Mazar-e-Quaid Mazar-e-Quaid (, ), also known as Jinnah Mausoleum or the National Mausoleum, is the final resting place of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Designed in a 1960s Modern architecture, modernist style, it was completed in 1971, and is ...

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, where the

Pakistan Air Force Academy The Pakistan Air Force Academy Asghar Khan (PAFAA) is an accredited four-year military academy which provides undergraduate education to officer candidates of the Pakistan Armed Forces, primarily the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).Shaheen Foundati ...

cadets present the

Guard of Honour A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

and take charge.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Public holidays in Pakistan Military of Pakistan Parades in Pakistan Public holidays in Pakistan September observances Armed Forces days

Context of the 1965 War

Celebrations and Parades

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography