ISLAMABAD: Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir on Sunday warned that any future misadventure against Pakistan would have “far-reaching and painful consequences”, while asserting that the country’s defence was now “completely impregnable” against external aggression.
He made these remarks while addressing a ceremony at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi to commemorate the first anniversary of Marka-e-Haq.
The term “Marka-e-Haq” refers to the 2025 conflict between Pakistan and India, which began after the April 22 Pahalgam attack and concluded with a ceasefire on May 10 following Operation Bunyanum Marsoos.
At the start of the ceremony, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf laid floral wreaths at Yadgar-e-Shuhada. Field Marshal Asim Munir also laid a wreath and offered fateha for the martyrs.
Addressing the gathering, the army chief said Pakistan, its people and armed forces had achieved an unprecedented success by the grace of Allah.
“Marka-e-Haq was a decisive battle between two ideologies in which truth prevailed, and falsehood faced defeat,” he said.
Field Marshal Munir said Pakistan would never allow any attempt to disturb the regional balance of power and rejected what he described as India’s ambitions of targeting Pakistan through military aggression and diplomatic isolation.
“This dream is far beyond its capability and Pakistan will never allow it to succeed,” he said.
Paying tribute to the martyrs and veterans of Marka-e-Haq, particularly innocent women, elderly citizens and children who lost their lives, he said the sacrifices of martyrs were a sacred trust for the nation.
“The sacrifices of martyrs are a trust, our strength is a responsibility, and our success is a blessing from Almighty Allah,” he remarked.
He further said the people of Pakistan and the national leadership had sent a clear message that there would be no compromise on national sovereignty, territorial integrity and national dignity.
The field marshal claimed that the alleged false flag operations of 2001, 2008, 2016 and 2019 reflected India’s repeated but unsuccessful attempts to impose conflict on Pakistan.
He said such efforts were aimed at achieving narrow political and military objectives through accusations, exaggeration, warmongering and what he described as misleading narratives of limited aggression.
Field Marshal Munir stated that India suffered significant human and material losses during the conflict, consequences which, he said, it would continue to face for a long time.
He said Pakistan’s “Fatah missiles” and the Pakistan Air Force’s “Shaheens” successfully targeted more than 26 enemy military installations.
“Alhamdulillah, Pakistan’s defence today is completely impregnable against any external aggression,” he said.
Warning against future hostilities, the army chief said any “future misadventure” against Pakistan would result in “extremely dangerous, far-reaching and painful consequences”.
He also announced that the Defence Forces Headquarters had been established to align Pakistan’s armed forces with modern military requirements.
Discussing evolving warfare trends, Field Marshal Munir said modern wars would be multi-domain in nature, involving long-range weapons, drones, cyber capabilities and artificial intelligence.
He praised Pakistan’s political leadership and diplomatic representatives for effectively presenting the country’s position at the international level and securing significant diplomatic gains.
The field marshal also commended the media, journalists and especially the youth for countering enemy propaganda, cyberwarfare and psychological operations.
He termed the strategic mutual defence agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia a major diplomatic achievement and said Pakistan was now hosting historic peace negotiations known as the “Islamabad Talks” through responsible and non-aligned diplomacy.
The army chief claimed that India, having realised conventional war with Pakistan was not possible, had once again turned towards terrorism.
He urged Afghanistan to eliminate terrorist sanctuaries from its soil and paid tribute to the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, as well as the armed forces and law enforcement personnel fighting terrorism.
“Pakistan would avenge every drop of innocent Pakistani blood, and the fight against terrorism would continue until the elimination of the last terrorist,” he said.
Field Marshal Munir also reaffirmed Pakistan’s continued political, diplomatic and moral support for the Kashmiri people.
Concluding his speech, he said Pakistan’s future was bright and prosperous and described the national flag as a symbol of hope.
“The Pakistani nation is the country’s strength, and the armed forces are the strength of the nation,” he said.
“When truth and falsehood confront each other, victory always belongs to truth. Pakistan was invincible yesterday, is invincible today, and will remain invincible in the future,” he concluded.
