Pakistan Affairs MCQs – Page 9 (Q81-90)

Pakistan's Independence Day is observed on 14 August, marking the country's creation in 1947 as a separate homeland following the partition of British India. Celebrations across the country typically include flag-hoisting ceremonies, fireworks, and a presidential and prime ministerial address, alongside widespread public festivities. The date falls one day before India's own independence day, both nations having gained independence under the same Indian Independence Act 1947. Other significant national days include Pakistan Day on 23 March and Defence Day on 6 September, each commemorating different milestones in the country's history.

Defence Day is observed on 6 September, commemorating Pakistan's defence against India during the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War, particularly the pivotal battles fought around Lahore and Sialkot. The day honours the armed forces and war martyrs through military parades, wreath-laying ceremonies and tributes at war memorials across the country. The 1965 war lasted about 17 days before a ceasefire brokered by the United Nations, followed by the Tashkent Declaration in January 1966. Defence Day is distinct from Pakistan Day on 23 March, which marks the 1940 Lahore Resolution, and Independence Day on 14 August.

Iqbal Day is observed on 9 November, marking the birth anniversary of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Pakistan's national poet and philosopher regarded as an ideological forerunner of the Pakistan Movement. The day is marked with seminars, poetry recitals and tributes highlighting his contributions to Urdu and Persian literature, as well as his 1930 Allahabad Address proposing a separate Muslim state. Iqbal died in 1938, nearly a decade before Pakistan's creation, and is buried near the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore at a mausoleum called Mazar-e-Iqbal. His verses continue to be widely quoted in Pakistani political and cultural discourse.

Quaid-e-Azam Day is observed on 25 December, marking the birth anniversary of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founder and first Governor-General, born in Karachi in 1876. The day is a public holiday featuring official ceremonies, wreath-laying at his mausoleum, Mazar-e-Quaid, and citations of his vision for the new state. The date coincidentally falls on Christmas Day, occasionally prompting joint celebrations acknowledging Pakistan's Christian minority. Other major days honouring national leaders include Iqbal Day on 9 November and the anniversary of Jinnah's death, observed on 11 September each year.

Pakistan Day, sometimes called Republic Day, is observed on 23 March, commemorating both the 1940 Lahore Resolution and the 1956 adoption of Pakistan's first constitution, which declared it an Islamic Republic. The day features a national holiday and a military parade in Islamabad, showcasing the armed forces' capabilities and honouring civil and military award recipients with state honours like the Nishan-e-Pakistan. The Lahore Resolution, passed in 1940 at a Muslim League session, called for separate states for Muslims in British India's northwestern and eastern zones. It is distinct from Independence Day on 14 August, which marks the actual attainment of statehood in 1947.

Kashmir Solidarity Day is observed on 5 February, a day dedicated to expressing Pakistan's political and moral support for the people of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir amid the long-running Kashmir dispute. First observed in 1990, the day typically involves rallies, seminars and official statements reaffirming Pakistan's stance on Kashmiri self-determination under UN resolutions. The Kashmir conflict dates back to 1947-48, when the princely state's accession to India was disputed, leading to the first of several wars between India and Pakistan over the territory. The Line of Control, established after the 1948 ceasefire, continues to divide Kashmir into Pakistani- and Indian-administered portions.

Syed Amir-uddin Kedwaii is credited with designing Pakistan's national flag, adapting it from the earlier flag of the All-India Muslim League by adding a white vertical stripe to represent religious minorities. The flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 11 August 1947, just days before independence, based on a design associated with the Muslim League's own banner used during the independence movement. While Muhammad Ali Jinnah approved and championed the final design as Constituent Assembly president, the technical credit for creating it belongs to Kedwaii. The flag's green field, white crescent and star, and minority stripe together encode the young nation's core symbolism.

Pakistan became a member of the United Nations in 1947, joining shortly after its independence in August of that year as one of the earliest new member states admitted following World War II's end. Membership placed Pakistan among the founding wave of post-colonial states entering the UN system during the late 1940s, alongside India, which joined as a founding member in 1945 while still under British rule. Pakistan has since contributed extensively to UN peacekeeping operations, ranking among the largest troop-contributing countries over the decades. The UN itself was established in 1945, with its charter signed in San Francisco after the Second World War.

Pakistan is a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), established in 1985 to promote economic and regional cooperation among South Asian states. SAARC's founding members also included India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, with Afghanistan joining later in 2007. Pakistan is likewise a founding member of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), formed in 1985 among Pakistan, Iran and Turkey, later expanded to include Central Asian states. SAARC summits have often been strained by tensions between India and Pakistan, at times disrupting the organisation's regular functioning.

CPEC stands for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a major infrastructure and investment initiative launched in 2015 linking Gwadar Port in Balochistan to China's Xinjiang region through a network of roads, railways, energy projects and pipelines. It forms a flagship component of China's broader Belt and Road Initiative and represents one of the largest bilateral investment programmes in Pakistan's history, valued at tens of billions of dollars. The corridor has included energy projects addressing Pakistan's chronic power shortages, alongside special economic zones intended to boost industrialisation. CPEC has also drawn scrutiny over debt sustainability concerns and security challenges, particularly attacks targeting Chinese workers in Balochistan.