by Muhammad Mohsin Iqbal
From the first dawn of Pakistan’s independence, this nation has stood as a sentinel of resilience, tested time and again by trials greater than its size, its resources, or its age, yet each has risen with the same defiance, proving that Pakistan is more than a country—it is an idea, a covenant with Almighty Allah, and a flame of faith that no storm can extinguish. From the fields of Kashmir in 1965 to the recent trials of May 2025, our history tells the same story: whenever India sought to subdue us with its aggression, Pakistan answered with courage, unity, and sacrifice.
The saga begins in 1965, when the oppressed cries of Kashmir echoed across the Himalayas. Operation Gibraltar was planned with the dream of igniting hope in the valley. But what followed was India’s blatant aggression across Pakistan’s international borders on the night of 6 September. The nation still remembers the voice of Field Marshal General Muhammad Ayub Khan in his historic address: “India has committed aggression against Pakistan. It is a declaration of war. Seventy million Pakistanis are now at war with India.” These words struck like thunder in every heart, transforming an entire nation into a living army. Housewives prepared for shortages with pride, students rushed to donate blood, poets sharpened their pens as weapons of morale, and every soldier on the frontline felt the breath of the nation at his back.
In that September of fire, Pakistan’s defenders wrote stories that can never fade. Major Raja Aziz Bhatti held his ground until his last breath, defending Lahore’s frontiers like a wall of steel. Squadron Leader M.M. Alam rose in the skies like an eagle of Iqbal’s dream, striking down five Indian aircraft within a single minute, etching his name forever in the annals of aerial warfare. Squadron Leader Sarfaraz Ahmed Rafiqui, Flight Lieutenant Imtiaz Ahmad Bhatti, Captain Nazir Ahmed, Major Muhammad Fazil, Lieutenant Muhammad Naeem Akhtar, Major Anwar-ul-Haq and countless others became legends not merely of war but of faith. The 1965 war did not redraw maps, but it redrew destinies. It showed the world that Pakistan’s strength lay not in numbers or weapons but in the unity of its people and the conviction of its faith.
Sixty years later, in May 2025, history once again summoned Pakistan to its hour of trial. This time, India sought to impose its will through a sudden and ruthless assault, hoping to cow Pakistan into submission. But just as in 1965, the answer was swift, unflinching, and resolute. Operation Bunyan-ul-Marsoos was launched as Pakistan’s response—a shield and a sword in the face of naked aggression. Under the leadership of Field Marshal General Syed Asim Munir, the armed forces of Pakistan stood firm, proving once again that this nation may be challenged but never subdued. The skies thundered with the roar of our jets, the deserts shook with the steel of our tanks, and the rivers whispered prayers for the sons of the soil marching to the front.
This was not merely a military engagement but a reaffirmation of Pakistan’s destiny. In the face of the world’s conspiracies and India’s arrogance, Pakistan stood tall, making it clear that aggression would never go unanswered. The martyrs of Operation Bunyan-ul-Marsoos joined the eternal ranks of their forefathers of 1965—jawans who fell in the fields of Punjab, officers who led charges with the Quran in their hands, and Ghazis who returned with the wounds of honor. Their sacrifice was a bridge across time, connecting the Lahore of 1965 with the May of 2025, binding two generations in the same chain of faith, sacrifice, and defiance.
The comparative lessons of both operations shine with clarity. In 1965, the challenge came from India’s tanks rolling across our borders; in 2025, it came in the form of a modern, well-orchestrated assault, aided and abetted by external powers. Yet in both, Pakistan’s response was the same: fearless, united, and uncompromising. In both, India’s aggression failed, and Pakistan’s resolve prevailed. These operations were not only battles of weapons but of wills—and in both, Pakistan’s will proved stronger.
The heroes of Gibraltar and Bunyan-ul-Marsoos belong to the same immortal fraternity. The names of Aziz Bhatti, M.M. Alam, and others stand proudly beside those of the unnamed martyrs of May 2025 who wrote with their blood the latest chapter of our history. The spirit of Ayub Khan’s stirring call to arms resonates with the steadfast leadership of Asim Munir, both voices carrying the same message: Pakistan is eternal because its faith is eternal.
Today, as we look back across six decades, from the guns of 1965 to the cannons of 2025, one truth stands beyond dispute. Pakistan has always been a nation that answers aggression with courage. Its defenders have always stood taller than their enemies, its people have always become an army when the homeland was threatened, and its soil has always borne witness to sacrifices that sanctify it anew.
To the martyrs of both eras, we offer not mere gratitude but a pledge—that their blood shall never be in vain. To the Ghazis, we offer honor that no time can dim. And to the generations to come, we offer the living testimony that Pakistan is not a country built on sand but on sacrifice, not a nation of fear but of faith. From Operation Gibraltar to Operation Bunyan-ul-Marsoos, Pakistan’s story is one: a story of defiance against tyranny, of unity against division, and of courage against all odds. And as long as this spirit endures, no enemy shall ever conquer this land of the pure.
