LAHORE - Pakistani nation celebrated the Yaum-i-Takbeer with the commitment to defending the country against aggression from any quarter.

On May 28 1998, Pakistan test-fired its nuclear apparatus to restore parity with India which was demonstrating increasingly aggressive stance.

“By becoming a nuclear-armed state, Pakistan has check-mated Indian military designs for all times to come, NPT chairman Muhammad Rafique Tarrar said while delivering his presidential address at the Aiwan-i-Karkunan-i-Tehreek-i-Pakistan yesterday.

The program was celebrated under the aegis of the Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust in collaboration with the Pakistan Movement Workers Trust. Those who graced the occasion with their presence included the NPT vice chairman Prof Dr Rafique Ahmad, Lt Gen (r) Zulfikar Ali Khan, Justice (r) Aftab Farrukh, Justice (r) Khalil-ur-Rehman Khan, Prof Ata-ur-Rehman, Mian Farooq Altaf, Iftikhar Ali Malik, Brig(r) Muhammad Iqbal Shafi, Begum Mehnaz Rafi, Justice (r) Munir Ahmad Mughal, Sahibzada Sultan Ahmad Ali, Rana Muhammad Arshad, Col (r) Ikram Ullah Khan, Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan, Prof Dr Parveen Khan, Begum Safia Ishaq, Begum Khalida Jamil, Fauzia Cheema, Prof Farzana Shaheen, Maulana Muhammad Shafi Josh, Farooq Khan Azad, Maj (r) Siddique Rehan, a large number of teachers, students, people from different walks of life.

Rafique Tarar congratulated the nation observing that nuclearisation of Pakistan was a matter of pride for every Pakistani, as it had freed them from any threat by our arch rival India. Tarar, who was the then President, said he had noticed no sign of hesitation or anxiety on the face of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who was determined to respond to India in kind despite threats by the US.

“The Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust is pursuing the Quaid-i-Azam’s mission to transform Pakistan into a modern Islamic, democratic and welfare state. Having strengthened our defence, now we must concentrate on strengthening our economy. Our growth rate is increasing and the CPEC projects are underway to boost it to incredible heights. The need of the hour is to preserve our political stability,” he added.

Dr Rafique Ahmad observed that Pakistan’s going nuclear has safeguarded its social, economic and political interests against any aggression. “We can scale the heights of progress by embracing science and technology.”

Zulfikar Ali Khan observed that Pakistan removed the imbalance of power with its eternal foe India by detonations at Chaghi disregarding America’s carrot and stick policy.

Prof Ataa-ur-Rehman observed that the US exerted pressure on Pakistan not to go nuclear in response to India’s nuclearisation by issuing threats of multi-faceted sanctions but the Pakistan leadership was valorous enough to ignore them and went ahead with the detonations, making the country’s defence impregnable.