Addressing reporters in Islamabad on Thursday, ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry declared that Pakistan was “prepared,” and he emphasized the nation’s homegrown military capabilities with firm and clear language.
The press conference coincided with a sombre national commemoration marking the first anniversary of “Marka-i-Haq.” Flanked by senior officers — Rear Admiral Shifaat Ali, deputy chief of naval staff (operations), and Air Vice Marshal Tariq Ghazi, deputy chief of air staff (projects) — Lt Gen Chaudhry conveyed both resolve and calm.
The term “Marka-i-Haq” has been used by the state to describe last year’s confrontation with India, a confrontation that began with the April 22 Pahalgam attack and included Pakistan’s Operation Bunyanum Marsoos. A ceasefire on May 10 ended the military escalation and halted further open conflict.
Opening his briefing with a warm welcome, he told those present, “We welcome you to ISPR on this happy day,” and congratulated the nation on the first anniversary of Marka-i-Haq.
In a measured, proud tone he said the country’s armed forces had met the nation’s expectations, conducting effective multi-domain operations that overcame a numerically superior foe.
“We will not linger on past events today… instead, we will devote more time from May 2025 to May 2026,” he said, promising a detailed outline of the conflict’s “strategic consequences.”
He went on to say there were ten such consequences, the foremost being that the Indian narrative which had painted Pakistan as a source of terrorism had been decisively discredited.
He said an attempt had been made to portray, without evidence, that Pakistan had perpetrated terrorism in India — a narrative, he argued, woven from insinuation rather than fact. The claim, he said, was a contrived story offered with no supporting proof.
“It has been one year since the Pahalgam incident,” he continued, “yet the questions Pakistan raised remain unanswered.” He demanded, “Where is the evidence?” and dismissed the accusations with blunt contempt: “Nobody buys this … you are the biggest terrorist. Nobody listens to them, nobody believes them,” he said, underscoring the deep scepticism toward those charges.
He described the second consequence as the consolidation of Pakistan as the net security stabiliser in the region. He said “Marka-i-Haq” revealed who was controlling and dominating the escalation, asserting that India had escalated the conflict based on a lie. The DG ISPR went further, calling Pakistan and its leadership the “biggest ambassador of security in the region.”
Turning to the third strategic consequence of “Marka-i-Haq,” he warned of an alarming side-effect involving “our eastern neighbour, unfortunately”: the politicisation of Indian military leadership and the growing militarisation of Indian political leadership.