Zahid ul Hassan
10th May 2025, Pakistani nation commemorates the first anniversary of ‘Operation Maarka-e-Haq’ which was conducted in response to the unprovoked Indian military strikes against Pakistan under the so-called ‘Operation Sindoor’ from 6/7 May till 10th May 2025.
The four-day war was a powerful statement by the defence forces of Pakistan in general and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in particular against the Indian misadventure and blatant aggression that not only deflated the bubble of net security provider of India but also redefined the geopolitical landscape of South Asia.
The short but intense war conveyed clear messages to the Indian leadership that; (i) under the nuclear overhang, there was no space for any type/level of war; (ii) Pakistan was a peer competitor to India even in the conventional domain and (iii) any attempts to challenge the deterrence and disturb the strategic stability of the region would be dealt with befitting response. As a direct consequence of the crisis, Pakistan’s position was consolidated as the rational player and the regional security stabilizer while resulting in geopolitical and geostrategic backsliding of India.As a student of geopolitical history, one can vividly recall that India, while applying the old playbook of using the false flag operation (this time it was at Pehalgam on 22 April 2025, in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, used all its State machinery to implicate Pakistan with the incident.
Instead of agreeing to Pakistan’s offer for a joint/third party investigation of the incident, without providing even a hint of proof, India was making all possible efforts to link Pakistan with Pehalgam incident, especially for its Western apologists. As late as till the evening of 6th May 2025, even the Western diplomats and media were appeared to be dancing to the Indian tune/propaganda.Bolstered by the Western geopolitical backing and false sense of military superiority, India launched airstrikes across the international border inside Pakistan on the night of 6/7 May 2025, against multiple civilian targets killing dozens of innocent citizens. It was a blatant act of aggression and violation of international order which was also authenticated by the United Nations’ Special Rapporteurs and independent experts’ report issued on 15 December 2025.
The report implicated India of several violations and breaches of the global order, including: (i) violating the international law; (ii) violating fundamental human rights, including the right to life, personal security and livelihoods; (iii) unilaterally deciding to hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in ‘abeyance’; (iv) failing to notify the UN Security Council and meet essential prerequisites for invoking Article 51 of the UN Charter; (v) violating Article 2(4) of customary international law, which prohibits any state from threatening or using armed force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state, whether the target is a state or non-state actor; (vi) violating Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), infringing upon Pakistan’s sovereignty and the principle of non-intervention in foreign states.Invoking article 51 of the UN charter, PAF responded – first by engaging the attacking fighter aircraft in an aerial combat on the night of 6/7 May 2025 and then, unlike IAF that attacked civilian installations, by targeting the Indian military installations. Interestingly, in a most heavily contested air combat after the World War-II, about 30-35 PAF aircraft pitched against 70-75 IAF’s frontline combat aircraft, utilizing integrated multidomain tactics, PAF destroyed 04 Rafale, 01 Mir-2000, 01 SU-30MKI, 01 Mig-29 and 01 UCAV with no own losses. Subsequently, over 01 dozen IAF bases, 02 S-400 surface to air missile defence systems and Brahmos missile storage sites were also successfully engaged and destroyed. Very next day of the aerial combat, PAF provided irrefutable and undeniable digital and optical evidences to the international media as proof to its claims which were widely accepted and acclaimed by them.
According to ‘The Telegraph’ outcome made IAF insecure and for the next three days IAF pulled back upto 300 km virtually providing air superiority to PAF.The four-day war between Pakistan and India was a watershed event and has placed far reaching effects on both the countries. In Pakistan’s case, it has validated French historian and philosopher Michel Foucault’s theory of power, that ‘power means holding the capacity to influence or affect the actions of others.’ Pakistan Air Force exhibited remarkable professionalism and despite being outnumbered, innovatively utilized tactical brilliance and technological prowess to overpower the bigger belligerent and laid the foundation to build peace and enhance Pakistan’s global relevance.
While in India’s case, the war inflicted geopolitical and geo-strategic backsliding on India, exposed hollowness of its leadership and busted myths regarding its invincible military power and its ability to act as counter weight to China. Nevertheless, it’s time to introspect. The historic occasion on one hand provides us the opportunity to bow our heads in humility to Allah Almighty for granting Pakistan the respect amongst the comity of nations while on the other hand we, as a nation, stand indebted to our valiant defence forces to stand up to our enemies.The author, a retired Air Officer from Pakistan Air Force and recipient of SI(M) and TI(M) is currently serving as Registrar in DHA Suffa University, Karachi.
