Defence Day

Defence Day
یومِ دفاع
Defence Day; یومِ دفاع
Also called	Youm-e-Difa
Observed by	Pakistan
Type	National
Celebrations	Flag hoisting, parade, military exhibitions, award ceremonies, singing patriotic songs, entertainment and military programmes, speeches, fireworks, etc.
Date	6 September
Next time	6 September 2024
Frequency	Annual

Defence Day (Urdu: یومِ دفاع ALA-LC: Yaum-i Difāʿ IPA: [jɔːm-e d̪ɪfɑː]) is celebrated in Pakistan as a national day to commemorate the sacrifices made by Pakistani soldiers in defending its borders.^[1]^[2] The date of 6 September marks the day in 1965 when Indian troops crossed the international border to launch an attack on Pakistani Punjab, in a riposte to Pakistan's Operation Grand Slam targeting Jammu.^[3] While it is officially commemorated as an unprovoked surprise attack by India, repulsed by the Pakistan Army despite its smaller size and fewer armaments,^[2]^[4] the narrative has been criticised by Indian commentators as representing false history.^[2]^[5]

^ "September 6: A day to remember the sacrifices of Pakistan's martyrs". Dawn. 7 September 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Taha Siddiqui, Dear Pakistanis, this Defence Day, please stop celebrating hate, Al Jazeera, 6 September 2018.
^ Nawaz, Crossed Swords 2008, p. 227: "Opposing it was the Indian I Corps with its 1st Armoured Division and three infantry divisions, with orders to secure the Pathankot-Jammu road by launching a riposte to an anticipated move by Pakistan against Jammu, the private plan of General Akhtar Malik that his superiors had thwarted."
^ Kumar, Prejudice and Pride 2001, p. 45: "Young Nation, a youth supplement published by the liberal Friday Times of Lahore wrote: It tells an epic tale of our soldiers who being a very small number compared to the Indian and having very little ammunition, weapons and machinery, fought with such spirit, bravery and courage that it stunned the Indian forces, and of the unity of our people."
^ Air Marshal Nur Khan, Dawn, 6 September 2005, quoted in Hiranandani, Transition to Guardianship 2013, pp. 1963–1964: "It was a wrong war and they misled the nation with a big lie that India, rather than Pakistan, had provoked the war and that we (Pakistanis) were the victims of the Indian aggression."