-19-
            
            
              officials attend the ceremony and medals and recognitions are awarded
            
            
              to special people for their work. In March 2007, the Pakistan Air Force
            
            
              (PAF) put on display the new joint manufactured Chinese-Pakistani
            
            
              aircraft called the JF-17 Thunder.
            
            
              National Dress:
            
            
              The national dress of Pakistan is Shalwar Qameez for both men and
            
            
              women. It consists of a long, loose fitting tunic with very baggy trousers.
            
            
              The dress is believed to be an amalgamation of the dresses worn by the
            
            
              ancient Persians, and Mughal Empire who have left their impression on
            
            
              the people and culture of Pakistan.
            
            
              The men’s version consists of solid,
            
            
              masculine colors, and is almost always
            
            
              accompanied by a collar and buttons
            
            
              (similar to a polo shirt). Men often wear an
            
            
              outer waistcoat over the shalwar kameez.
            
            
              Thewomen’sversionalmostnevercontains
            
            
              collar and buttons but is often embroidered
            
            
              and consists of feminine colors and may
            
            
              feature lace or flower patterns.
            
            
              In the summer, a light, cotton version is often worn, while during the
            
            
              winter, a heavier, wool version is worn.
            
            
              The sherwani or achkan with karakul hat is the recommended dress
            
            
              for male government employees and officials, as it is not specifically
            
            
              associated with any of the provinces. Most male government officials
            
            
              wear the formal black sherwani on state occasions.
            
            
              Cultural traditions:
            
            
              Pakistanis have evolved an often distinct and unique set of culture,
            
            
              traditions and customs in the region. Shalwar Qameez is the dress
            
            
              commonly worn, both by men and Kashmiris, etc. put and dances are
            
            
              distinctlyuniquewith theirownmelodies, instruments, patternsandstyles.
            
            
              Pakistani arts in metal work, tiles, furniture, rugs, designs/paintings,
            
            
              literature, calligraphy, etc. are diverse and renowned internationally.
            
            
              Pakistani architecture is unique with its infusion of Islamic, Persian,
            
            
              Turkish and Indigenous styles. The manners and lifestyles are guided
            
            
              by a blend traditions as well as culture. Food dishes are also attracting
            
            
              quite a lot of attention with its wide blend of flavors and spices.