Pakistan Day Parade 23 March: How to Watch

The Pakistan Day parade is the armed forces' march-past held in Islamabad on 23 March, normally at the Shakarparian Parade Ground. Seats are by invitation card only, so almost everyone watches it live on PTV and the news channels. It has not run every year: the 2026 parade was cancelled on 17 March as an austerity measure, and the 2025 one was a smaller ceremony at the President's House because it fell in Ramadan. The next date is Tuesday 23 March 2027, and whether a full parade goes ahead is usually announced in early March.

This guide explains what happens on the day, how you can see it (on screen, from the city, or with a pass), how the rehearsals affect Islamabad, and what each recent year looked like, so you can tell what to expect before planning a trip around it.

What is the Pakistan Day parade for?

23 March marks two things. On that day in 1940 the All-India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution at what is now Greater Iqbal Park, where Minar-e-Pakistan stands. On the same date in 1956 Pakistan adopted its first constitution and became a republic. The parade was first held that year, in Karachi, and later moved to Rawalpindi and then Islamabad.

The parade itself is organised by the Joint Staff Headquarters, and the President takes the salute. It is a military occasion first: marching contingents from the Army, Navy and Air Force, mechanised columns, missiles and other equipment driven past the stand, and aircraft overhead. Around that sits a civilian programme, with floats from the provinces and national songs.

The rest of the country marks the day in smaller ways. A 31-gun salute is fired in Islamabad and a 21-gun salute in the provincial capitals, and there are change of guard ceremonies at the Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi and at Allama Iqbal's tomb in Lahore. Those two are the parts a visitor can actually go and see without a pass; our guide to the Mazar-e-Quaid change of guard covers how that works.

Where is the parade held?

Since 2015 the venue has been the Shakarparian Parade Ground, below the Shakarparian hills between Zero Point and Faizabad, close to the Pakistan Monument.

Before 2015 the parade had moved between the Rawalpindi Race Course, Constitution Avenue and Jinnah Avenue, and was suspended altogether from 2008 to 2014 because of terrorism. When it returned in 2015 it settled at Shakarparian.

The venue can change at short notice. In 2025 the government moved the event to Aiwan-e-Sadr (the President's House) and held it on a limited scale because 23 March fell in Ramadan.

Can the public attend?

Not by turning up. Entry to the stands is by invitation card or security pass, and the passes are colour-coded: each colour has its own approach road, car park and seating block, with signs and staff along the way. The guests are officials, diplomats, service families, invited schools and others on official lists. We have not found any public ticket sale or online registration, so treat any website or social media page offering parade tickets with suspicion.

If you live in Islamabad or Rawalpindi you will still hear and see a good part of it. The flypast and aerobatic displays are visible across much of the city, and in the days before the parade the rehearsing aircraft are a familiar sound over the twin cities. Do not try to watch from the roads near the venue: they are closed and heavily policed.

How to watch it on TV

For most people this is the real answer. PTV broadcasts the ceremony live from the start, and the private news channels carry it too, along with live streams on their YouTube channels. Coverage usually begins in the morning with the arrival of the chief guest and the gun salute, and runs until the last flypast.

What you will see in a full-scale year:

1. Arrival of the President and the chief guest, the national anthem and a recitation from the Quran.
2. The President's address, normally short and focused on defence and national unity.
3. The flypast and air displays, led by the Air Chief. In 2024 this included J-10C and F-7PG fighters, along with Navy and Army Aviation helicopters and the paratroopers' free-fall display.
4. The march-past by contingents from the three services and paramilitary forces, often with invited foreign contingents. China and Azerbaijan sent contingents in 2024.
5. Mechanised columns and equipment, from tanks to missile carriers.
6. Cultural floats from the provinces and regions, which most families enjoy more than the hardware.

The Sherdils, the Pakistan Air Force's aerobatic team, have been a regular feature of the air display in full-scale years.

Rehearsals, road closures and signal cuts

The parade affects Islamabad for about a week, not just on the day. In a normal year there are several full dress rehearsals in the days beforehand, and the Islamabad Traffic Police publish a traffic plan in the press. In 2024, for example, heavy traffic was barred from entering the city from midnight to 2 pm on 17, 19, 21 and 23 March, and Faizabad was closed to all traffic during the parade.

On rehearsal and parade mornings expect:

• Closures on the Expressway, Faisal Avenue, Zero Point, Murree Road towards Faizabad and Parade Avenue, usually from early morning to early afternoon
• Mobile phone service suspended in parts of Islamabad and Rawalpindi near the route, typically for the morning
• Diversions through Khanna Pul, Lehtrar Road and Park Road for traffic coming from Rawalpindi and the south

If you are flying out of Islamabad or driving north from the capital on those mornings, leave early and check the published traffic plan first. Our post on getting around Islamabad covers the city's main routes and the Metro.

Which years was the parade held or cancelled?

The parade's recent record is patchy, which matters if you are planning a trip around it.

In 2026 the President approved the cancellation on the Prime Minister's advice. The government said the day would be marked with a simple flag-hoisting ceremony instead, and moved the investiture ceremony for civil awards, normally held on 23 March, to 28 April. You can read the government's announcement on Radio Pakistan.

For 2027, Ramadan is expected to end before 23 March, so the 2025 reason for scaling down will not apply. Whether there is a full parade will depend on the government's decision that year, and it is often only confirmed two or three weeks before.

Is it worth planning a trip to Islamabad for it?

For most people, no. You will not see the parade itself without a pass, the roads around it are closed, and the best view is on television. Flying in from Karachi or Lahore to sit in a hotel room watching PTV makes little sense.

It is worth being in Islamabad if you live nearby or are visiting anyway, and you want the feel of the day: the flags along the main avenues, the aircraft overhead in rehearsal week, and a quiet afternoon at Shakarparian once the closures lift. Lahore is the more natural place to spend 23 March as a visitor, because Minar-e-Pakistan stands on the ground where the resolution was passed, and Karachi has the change of guard at the Mazar-e-Quaid.

If you are looking for festivals and public events to travel for, our experiences page collects the ones that are built for visitors, and the post on public holidays in Pakistan explains how 23 March and the other holidays affect travel.

Frequently asked questions