Resilient and Rising Pakistan: Celebrating National Days through Grassroots Unity
By: Khurram Shahzad
National days are most meaningful when they reach beyond official stages and touch the lives of citizens, in their schools, communities, and neighbourhoods. This is where the development sector plays a vital role, ensuring that the spirit of Independence and Defence Day is celebrated not just as a tradition, but as a shared national experience. These words from Nadir Gul Barech, Chief Executive Officer of the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), beautifully capture the vision behind the Resilient and Rising Pakistan campaign, a nationwide initiative to promote unity, inclusion, and resilience through community participation.
In a country as diverse and geographically vast as Pakistan, the challenge has always been to ensure that national celebrations are not limited to urban areas or ceremonial spaces. Too often, the rural and marginalized communities the very heart of the nation remain on the sidelines. The Resilient and Rising Pakistan campaign, under the patronage of the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety (MoPA&SS), jointly launched by the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), and Paigham-e-Pakistan (PeP), seeks to change that narrative.
The campaign stretches across the months of August and September, commemorating both Independence Day and Defence Day. But what makes it stand out is not just its symbolism, rather its inclusivity and reach. Over 2400 events are planned in rural and urban area alike, engaging schools, universities, community halls and press clubs where people gather not as spectators, but as active participants.
This campaign includes awareness sessions, tree plantation drives, community mobilization events, cheque distribution under social protection programs, and health and youth outreach initiatives, sports competitions and interactive discussions on national values, the initiative blends celebration with social impact. These activities are not mere festivities they are expressions of unity, resilience, and shared responsibility. In this way, the campaign aligns perfectly with the broader development goals of strengthening social cohesion, fostering inclusivity, and promoting civic engagement.
As someone who has closely observed the intersection of development work and community mobilization, I see initiatives like this as vital to bridging the gap between state narratives and citizen ownership of national identity. Although mega events have its own significance but they cannot substitute for the lived experiences of communities when they come together to celebrate their shared heritage.
What is equally significant is the collaboration at the heart of this campaign. MoPA&SS brings the policy direction, PPAF mobilizes grassroots networks built over decades, and Paigham e Pakistan infuses the moral and social narrative of peace and unity. This partnership ensures that the message of resilience and national pride resonates equally in a school in Balochistan, a community centre in Kyber Pakhtunkhwa or Punjab , or a village in Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
The broader lesson here is that national days are not only about remembering our history, but also about shaping our future. By engaging youth, women, and marginalized communities in the spirit of these celebrations, we are planting the seeds for a stronger, more inclusive Pakistan. Involving citizens directly in activities from volunteer projects to cultural showcases transforms national pride from an abstract sentiment into a lived, everyday reality.
In my view, this is precisely the kind of approach that can strengthen Pakistan’s social fabric. When celebrations become inclusive and participatory, they serve as powerful reminders that the nation’s resilience lies not only its leaders, but in the unity and determination of its people.
The Resilient and Rising Pakistan campaign is more than a commemoration it is a roadmap for how we can collectively celebrate our shared identity, while reinforcing the values that will sustain us in the years ahead.
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