Bilawal hails national unity, armed forces' role against India during Marka-e-Haq

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday celebrated Pakistan’s “victory” against India during last year’s war, reiterating that the country is “not a nation that bows”.

In an address at a ceremony organized by the Sindh government to observe Marka-i-Haq in Karachi, Bilawal was joined by CM Sindh Murad Ali Shah.

The term ‘Marka-i-Haq’ is being employed by the state to mark the 2025 conflict between India and Pakistan from the April 22 Pahalgam attack till Operation Bunyanum Marsoos concluded with a ceasefire on May 10.

“Pakistan’s victory over India did not rest on arms only. It was a victory of willpower; it was a victory of unity; it was a victory of a people who did not bend their knees,” Bilawal, the former minister for foreign affairs who has led diplomatic missions to other countries to communicate Pakistan’s stance regarding the war, said at the event.

“We are not a nation that succumbs to pressures. We are not a nation that sells out on its sovereignty. We are a nation that rises time and again, stronger, more proud and more united,” the PPP chairman added.

“Our forces fought with bravery, integrity, and valor. Our diplomats articulated our position with clarity."

“Today, we do not merely mark the passage of time. We mark the endurance of a nation. We commemorate not just a victory, but the vindication of the very idea of Pakistan,” he said.

Bilawal recalled that a year ago, Pakistan “stood at the edge of uncertainty [as] drums of conflict echoed our borders”. “The air was thick with fear, speculation, and the designs of those who believed Pakistan could be bent, broken or bullied. They were wrong,” the PPP chairman added.

He emphasised that victory was “not measured by territory held or battles won”, but by “dignity preserved [and] sovereignty defended”. Victory, he added, was measured “by the message sent to the world that Pakistan will never be coerced, never be silenced, and will never surrender”.

The ex-FM also took aim at those “beyond our borders who seek to rewrite history”, asserting that history was “not written by noise”, but rather by nations that endured.