After a gap of several years, the armed forces and allied defence industry held a public exhibition, displaying their hardware in connection with Independence Day.

“Uncle, I want to become an officer too,” said Sheharbano, a young girl from Islamabad, while shaking hands with army personnel at the defence exhibition here on Thursday.

However, her cousin, who was also visiting the exhibition, had a different aspiration, insisting that she wanted to be an air force pilot.

A large number of people, not only from the federal capital and Rawalpindi but also from Murree tehsil, visited the grand defence exhibition at the Shakarparian Exhibition Ground, which opened to the public at 10am.

Despite limited announcements about the free public entry, and the Chehlum procession in Islamabad, a massive rush was witnessed after 2pm, causing traffic congestion on roads around the Shakarparian grounds.

The exhibition featured military equipment along with replicas and models of Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy hardware, such as ships and fighter jets.

The public was also allowed to get close to certain weaponry, including tanks, artillery, rocket launchers, armoured carriers, radars, missiles and heavy machine guns.

The Fatah missile system was extensively used by Pakistan in counterattacks against India.

Small weapons and sensitive equipment were displayed in glass boxes by defence production units such as the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF).

Due to heavy public attendance, there was hardly any space to walk in the exhibition grounds and parking was allowed inside the venue.

However, because of weather conditions, the flypast by Pakistan Air Force fighter jets and the para-jumping demonstrations by SSG commandos were cancelled.

Meanwhile, sources in the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the exhibition is likely to become an annual Independence Day feature and may gradually be expanded to provincial capitals.

Performances by military bands playing patriotic melodies drew children to dance along, with some joining in by blowing whistles and horns. Such events were a regular feature on September 6 for many years, from the 1970s through the early 2000s, when families would visit exhibition venues, including military garrisons, stadiums and air bases, to witness military equipment and even climb onto some of it.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2025