CDF Munir says India’s ambitions exceeded its capabilities, armed forces cannot be intimidated

Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Sunday said India’s ambitions far exceeded its capabilities during the 2025 conflict, asserting that the armed forces would “never be intimidated”. He made the remarks at a ceremony held at General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi to mark one year since Pakistan’s victory in last year’s conflict with India. The conflict with India — starting from the April 22 Pahalgam attack to the end of Operation Bunyanum Marsoos with a ceasefire between the two countries on May 10 — has been called “Marka-i-Haq” (Battle of Truth) by the state. Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, as the chief guest, addressed the event. Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf were also in attendance. Addressing the ceremony, Field Marshal Munir said the day was a “source of pride” for Pakistan, its public and the armed forces. He recalled that the “enemy made a failed attempt to test our resolve by violating the sovereignty and territory” of Pakistan from the the midnight of May 6/7 till May 10. He asserted this was responded to “with full natioanl unity and military force”. “Marka-i-Haq was not merely a traditional war fought between two countries or militaries, but in reality, it was a decisive marka (battle) between two ideologies, in which thanks to Allah, the truth won and falsehood was met with defeat,” he noted. Quoting a Quranic verse on truth and falsehood, he stressed that the May 2025 conflict was “not a sudden incident, but rather a part of India’s false and a widening pattern of exploitative tactics”. “The false flag operations of 2001, 2008, 2016 and 2019 are a testament that even in the past, India has made failed attempts to impose an illegitimate war on Pakistan and […] achieve narrow-minded, long-term political and military objectives through allegations, exaggeratio