Independence Day celebrations in capital took brings dramatic parade with thousands in attendance while CDA chairman and Islamabad Inspector General of Police arrived at the grand City Parade in a horse-drawn carriage, prompting social media users to wonder whether they were watching a modern-day state ceremony or a scene borrowed from the colonial era.
Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration organized City Parade at the Old Parade Ground for Independence Day festivities. Police squads, Jhang Dance Group, drum performers, and pipe and percussion bands provided the ceremonial spectacle.
But it was not the performances that stole the show. A video of the CDA chairman and Islamabad IGP riding into the venue in a horse-drawn carriage quickly became the centre of online attention. Critics seized on the imagery, sarcastically likening the arrival to that of colonial-era officials and asking whether the capital had briefly turned the clock back to the days of the British Raj.
Have you ever seen London’s Police Commissioner or any senior civil servant riding around in a royal buggy? When this is the mindset in a country deep in debt, where millions are struggling with poverty, how can we ever expect the country to progress? pic.twitter.com/YO5CBrfhAZ
— Ihtisham Ul Haq (@iihtishamm) August 15, 2026
Social media users joked that the “East India Company is still in charge,” while others questioned the symbolism of senior officials arriving in what appeared to be a royal-style carriage in a country confronting severe economic pressures.
One question repeatedly surfaced online: Have you ever seen London’s police commissioner or a senior civil servant routinely arriving at an official event in a royal buggy?
For critics, the issue was not simply the carriage. They argued that the spectacle reflected a mindset in which official grandeur and hierarchy remain more visible than the realities facing ordinary citizens.
Several mentioned economic woes with millions struggling with poverty and the country continuing to grapple with debt and financial challenges. Against that backdrop, the lavish ceremonial entrance struck some observers as an awkward display of official privilege.
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