Navy Takes Over Guard at Iqbal’s Mausoleum on His 149th Birth AnniversaryPakistan

Station Commander Lahore, Commodore Misbah-ul-Amin, attended the ceremony as chief guest and received a guard of honour. He laid a floral wreath at the mausoleum on behalf of Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf, along with officers, sailors and civilian personnel of the Pakistan Navy.

The ceremony formed part of nationwide commemorations marking Iqbal Day, observed every year on November 9 to honour the life, philosophy and intellectual legacy of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the thinker behind the idea of an independent Muslim state in the subcontinent.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to Iqbal on Monday, saying his message of unity and peaceful coexistence continued to serve as a guiding beacon for the country. The prime minister also announced that the government will hold a year-long commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Iqbal, culminating on November 9, 2027.

The federal government had announced November 9 as a public holiday on account of Iqbal Day, and ceremonies and tributes were held across the country. Last week, the prime minister said Iqbal’s vision could be realised through educated youth, as the nation prepared to celebrate the 149th anniversary.

The change of guard at Mazar-e-Iqbal is an annual honour performed by the armed forces on Iqbal Day. The Navy last performed the duty on the same occasion in 2025, when its contingent also took over from the Punjab Rangers at the mausoleum adjacent to the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore.

Iqbal, born in Sialkot in 1877, is remembered as Mufakkir-e-Pakistan and Shair-e-Mashriq. His poetry and philosophy inspired the Pakistan movement, and his mausoleum in Lahore remains one of the country’s most visited national monuments.