By Our Reporter
Pakistan day celebrations were curtailed across the country in the wake of outbreak of COVID-19, which has claimed close to 15000 lives globally on Monday. Pakistan’s top leadership the Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa vowed to defend the borders of the country besides battling the COVID-19 with the support of nation.
All public gatherings, including the much-anticipated military parade, were postponed as a precautionary measure to curb the spread of the virus.
Prime Minister Imran Khan
Prime Minister Imran Khan urged people to stay calm in the face of the coronavirus outbreak and to take precautionary measures.
According to Radio Pakistan, he said: “The nation has the capability to face any ordeal […] we will emerge victorious.”
FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi
In a statement, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi stated that Pakistan Day provides the country “an opportunity to reflect on our journey as a nation state and contemplate about the future”.
The coronavirus pandemic is testing the resolve and resilience of nations across the globe, the foreign minister said.
“To be able to successfully defeat this common enemy, we need to marshal the same innate virtues. We need to acknowledge and appreciate the tremendous sacrifices and contributions that our health care personnel and others […] our soldiers in the forefront of this war, are making to keep us all safe,” he said.
Qureshi added that the nation must also not forget about our Kashmiris brothers and sisters in occupied Kashmir.
“With an iron will, and with all the political, diplomatic and moral force at its command, Pakistan will continue to stand by its Kashmiri brethren, till the dawn of self-determination.”
