Meet the seven national heroes honoured during the Pakistan Day parade

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan honoured seven national heroes and acknowledged their efforts in bringing immense pride to the country during the Pakistan Day parade Thursday.

Pakistan’s military parade, which features contingents of the three armed forces, was postponed due to inclement weather on March 23.

Parveen Saeed

The first one to receive the acknowledgement was Karachi’s Parveen Saeed who runs Khana Ghar.

The facility aims to feed hundreds of people belonging to the impoverished segments of society.

Saeed’s Khana Ghar provides meals to poor families at unbelievably low prices. “Around 300 people eat at Khana Ghar in Khuda Ki Basti daily, and the cost of the operation comes to about Rs4,000 a day,” according to Khana Ghar’s official website.

Rafia Baig

Rafia Baig is the first woman to join Pakistan’s bomb disposal squad. A bomb blast that happened near a sessions court years back motivated her to join the force.

Before joining the bomb disposal squad, she served in the police as a constable for seven years.

Read more: Pakistan stands with Kashmir, says President Arif Alvi

The officer underwent training in various areas, including Michni, Salman Khel, Adezai in Peshawar where she learnt bomb types, identification of various devices and measures to defuse them.

Ali Gohar

Another young talent to receive acknowledgement at Pakistan’s military parade was Ali Gohar who lost both hands in an electric shock, but he never gave up his knack for painting.

Ali, with exemplary courage, paints with his feet.

Mahendra Pal Singh

The 24-year-old bowler, Mahendra Singh is the first Pakistani bowler to represent the Sikhs at the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

The right-handed bowler, who hails from Larkana, represented Peshawar Zalmi. He belongs to the tiny 20,000 strong Sikh communities in Pakistan.

Sajid Sadpara

Son of famous mountaineer, Ali Sadpara, Sajid Sadpara was another name celebrated and acknowledged for his passion and contribution in bringing a good name to the country.

In summer 2019, Sajid became the youngest person to summit K2. 

Natalya Najam

Nine-year-old Natalya Najam is the fastest and youngest in the world to arrange the chemical elements of the periodic table in the shortest possible time, breaking the record of an Indian professor.

Najam, who is a Lahore-based science enthusiast, broke the previous record by seven seconds.

Master Ayub

Master Ayub is a firefighter by profession, but he's currently on a mission to educate as many children as he can who are burdened by poverty and lack of resources.

He provides free education to children living in the slums of Islamabad.