Pakistan Defense Day celebrated in Riyadh

The Pakistani Embassy held a grand reception to observe its 49th defense day at the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh.
Defense Day is held on Sept. 6 every year to commemorate the Pakistani soldiers who lost their lives defending their country in the 1965 India-Pakistan war.
Khayyam Akbar, chargé d’ affaires at the Pakistani embassy, spoke highly of the Saudi-Pak bilateral ties in the field of defense.
“The cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is commendable and has endured over the decades with the Pakistan Armed Forces training Saudi officers and soldiers to strengthen their defense,” Akbar said.
He added that the Saudi-Pak cooperation has further strengthened since the Kingdom sent Saudi cadets to Pakistan to be trained in the military, navy, and air force recently.
Defense and Army Attaché Brig. Tahir Gulzar Malik expressed the importance of the Defense Day for the Pakistani nation.
“When we commemorate the sacrifices which have been rendered by the armed forces of Pakistan in the defense of our motherland, it revitalizes our spirit because of the assurance they continue to provide us with by safeguarding our country,” he said.
Abbas Sarwar Qureshi, head of Chancery (HOC) at the Pakistani Embassy, commenced the event with a speech about the history of Defense Day.
“Defense Day is celebrated by Pakistanis around the world as Pakistan’s national day of unity. The day is commemorated to give tribute to our soldiers for their courage, and for continually working to safeguard our country as part of one of the best armed forces, notably the eighth largest in the world,” he said.
The guest of honor at the event was Lt. Gen. AbdulRahman Bin Saleh Al-Bunyan, chief of General Staff of the Saudi Armed Forces.
The speech was followed by a cake-cutting ceremony by Gen. Al-Bunyan and Khayyam Akbar, followed by dinner to close the evenings’ celebrations.
A number of generals, ambassadors, defense attachés, naval and air attachés, foreign diplomats, embassy officials, and members of the Pakistani community attended the event.