In a televised message marking Marka-i-Haq, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday warned that Pakistan’s response to any future miscalculation would be “more intense and decisive.”
The state has described last year’s military conflict with India — beginning with the April 22 Pahalgam attack and culminating in Pakistan’s Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, followed by a ceasefire on May 10 — as “Marka-i-Haq” (Battle of Truth).
In his address, Asif said Marka-i-Haq was not merely a “memorable episode” for Pakistan, but a defining line that has now been permanently drawn.
He cautioned that anyone on the other side of this line should recognise that Pakistan exercised tolerance and restraint during the 2025 conflict. However, he warned that any “wrong assessment or miscalculation” in the future would trigger a response that is “more intense and decisive.”
Asif emphasised that Pakistan did not seek conflict in 2025 and continues to hold the same position today. “But there should not be any doubt; Pakistan does not only respond, but it also determines the correct course of consequences. Any adventurism against us will not remain limited [to the other side’s action]; we will decide its course, its beginning and its end,” he stated.
He further asserted that Marka-i-Haq had “buried forever the impression” that Pakistan could be pressured or isolated.
Highlighting the country’s defence capabilities, the minister said that Pakistan’s ability to respond across air, land, and sea domains is now effective and faster than ever before.
He also stressed that India must understand there is no longer any room for “dramatics, false flag operations and miscalculations.” Warning against repeating “cliched actions,” Asif said such moves would come at a significantly higher cost. “It will be equivalent to suicide,” he added.