President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have called to promote national unity to make Pakistan a strong country. In their separate messages on Defence Day, they said, being a nuclear and missile power, Pakistan has strong defence.
Musharraf said 'we have faith in our destiny and will work, Insha Allah, untiringly to promote unity, solidarity and cohesiveness in ourselves and make Pakistan an economically and militarily strong country, enjoying its rightful place in the comity of nations.
Defence Day of Pakistan symbolises the importance that the nation attaches to safeguarding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country.
The aggression that we faced 41 years ago made us conscious about the need to strengthen the defence of our country at all costs, he said.
We realised that big countries seeking to impose their hegemony pay little heed to international laws and could violate the sanctity of borders of smaller neighbours with impunity, he said.
The answer lies in being strong enough to deter aggressive designs of the adversary. We needed to possess the capability protect our integrity; safeguard our economic and other vital interests.
President Musharraf said 'Alhamdo Lillah, Pakistan has come a long way since 1965 and we are now a country having an impregnable defence. Pakistan is a nuclear and missile power.
Over the years concerted steps have been taken for self-reliance in the field of defence and the country has giant strides in this regard, he said adding Al-Khalid and Al-Zarrar Tanks, Augosta 90-B Submarine and the JF-17 Thunder Fighter Aircraft are shining examples of our achievements in enhancing our indigenous defence capability. Today is also a day to remember and pay homage to our Shuhada and Ghazis for their patriotism, devotion to duty, matchless valour and supreme sacrifices in defence of the country, he said.
The 6th of September will also remain forever etched in memory as the day when the entire Pakistan nation and their valiant armed forces came together in an unmatched display of unity, faith and discipline, proving to the world that our beloved country was there to stay on the map of the world, he added.
President said 'as we commemorate the Defence Day of Pakistan let us pledge anew that the national unity and identity, which we discovered in 1965, would be nurtured and strengthened with every passing year. May Allah Almighty Be our Protector and guide. Ameen! Pakistan Armed Forces Zindabad, Pakistan Paindabad, he concluded.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said in his message that today we are observing the Defence of Pakistan Day. This is the day when our valiant Armed Forces repelled an attack by a better-equipped and many times bigger circumstances. Our most effective weapon in this war was the golden principles of Unity, Faith and Discipline on the strength of which our elders had won Pakistan. On this occasion I pay homage to our martyrs and ghazis.
In modern times, economic consolidation and self-reliance in armaments are the real strength of a nation for its defence. By the grace of Allah Almighty Pakistan is now a nuclear power and we are among the exporters of defence equipment.