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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said Pakistan had emerged stronger, more resilient, and united after Marka-e-Haq (Battle of Truth), as the nation marks the first anniversary of the event with tributes to martyrs, armed forces personnel, and military leadership for defending the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against neighbouring India.
Marka-e-Haq is the official name given to the broader conflict with India that began after the Pahalgam incident on April 22, 2025, and ended with the ceasefire on May 10, 2025, resulting in a convincing victory for Pakistan.
“Marka-e-Haq is a day to bow in gratitude before Allah Almighty for His countless blessings upon us. Today, we commemorate Pakistan’s valiant stand in adversity and the crushing defeat we inflicted on the enemy. The nation pays tribute to its martyrs, their families and the ghazis who stood like a steel wall to defend their homeland. The well-coordinated and synchronised response of our forces across land, sea, air and cyber domains established Pakistan as an invincible nation,” PM Shehbaz said in his message on the first anniversary of Marka-e-Haq.
He paid tribute to Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir for his leadership and Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber and Admiral Naveed Ashraf for their strategic prudence.
“Marka-e-Haq bears testimony that Pakistanis are a peace-loving, yet courageous, resilient, and dignified nation who can neither be intimated nor subdued by any aggressor. Marka-e-Haq is etched in history as an epic feat of achieving overwhelming dominance over an enemy, bent on unprovoked aggression.
“The enemy was administered a heavy dose of reality serum to dispel its illusion of invincibility.”
The premier paid tribute to the officers and soldiers of the Armed Forces, who, with support of the Pakistani nation, “inscribed a new chapter in Pakistan-India context”.
“Pakistan clearly manifested its desire for peace, while re-establishing deterrence and safeguarding its security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“Let there be no doubt that any aggression to undermine Pakistan will be met with an immediate, befitting and full-spectrum response. We stand determined and vigilant to ensure security along our frontiers.
“We also remain steadfast in our efforts to root out Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan and take the fight against terrorism to its logical conclusion,” PM Shehbaz said.
The premier further said no story of Pakistan was complete without Kashmir, which he said remained the “unfinished agenda of the subcontinent’s partition.”
“Strategic stability in South Asia, without the resolution of Kashmir issue, would remain a distant dream which needs to be resolved in accordance with the United Nations resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. Pakistan shall continue to stand by the fundamental right of freedom and self-determination of Kashmiri people,” the prime minister said.
“Today, Pakistan is recognised as a responsible nation that not only knows how to defend itself, but has also emerged as a guarantor of global peace and stability.
“Pakistan’s pivotal role as a key mediator during the ongoing US-Iran conflict and our efforts to seek an end to violence have earned worldwide acknowledgement. Pakistan remains committed in its efforts aimed at peaceful resolution of the conflict,” PM Shehbaz said.
Commemorating the sacrifices of the martyrs during Marka-e-Haq, the prime minister urged the nation to face adversaries like a “Steel Wall” and work selflessly for “the destined glory of this great homeland”.
