DHAKA: Pakistan held its first Republic Day parade in seven years on Monday, full of flag-waving pomp and aerial military expertise, a symbolic show of strength in the war against the Taliban months after a militant attack on a school killed 132 children.

The Pakistan Day parade, complete with a 31-gun dawn salute, was held amid tight security. Cellular phone networks were blocked as a precaution to thwart militants, who have often used mobile phone signals to trigger bombs.

No parades had been held since 2008, following an escalation in the military’s conflict with the Pakistani Taliban, reports The Straits Times.

But the military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half its history, says the militants have been on the run since the army launched an operation last year to dislodge insurgents from the northwestern regions of Khyber and North Waziristan, on the border with Afghanistan.

BDST: 1508 HRS, MAR 23, 2015