Syeda Tazeen Kirmani
“India is being soundly beaten by a nation which is outnumbered by four and a
half to one in population and three to one in size of armed forces”, reported in
London Daily Mirror after the second Pak-India war of 1965. This statement
marked the exemplary display of courage and gallantry of Pakistan Armed forces
against their enemy and is one of the proofs of awesome combination of sword and
spirit of Pakistani nation. This was not the only time Pakistan stunned the
world by its glorious archives of valor and self-sacrifices but at numerous
events the courage and unity of Pakistan armed forces and its nation is
commended globally. In this regard particularly war against terrorism is one of
the occasions where sacrifices of our warriors will be etched in gold in the
history of valor and faithfulness.
On 6 Sep 1965, 4:00 am, Indian Army crossed the Wagah border and unleashed an
undeclared war against Pakistan. This was an all-out war in terms of territorial
expanse and mass of resources. Everything was carried-out to annihilate Pakistan
but Pakistan Armed forces wrecked their plans. The valiant soldiers of Pakistan
Army undauntedly retaliated against the Indian forces halting their dreams of
taking-over Pakistan. The national priorities were clear in the minds of whole
nation, demonstrated through actions at that time. Such a massive attack on the
country called for the unity and the whole nation stood behind Pakistan military
like a rock. Citizens at different places tried to advance the borders to
wrestle with the Indian forces. This was all the amalgamation of spirit of
sacrifice and unity imbibed in the whole nation that led the Indian forces to
retreat back.
India was presumptuous about its capabilities but hardly familiar with the
fortitude of our soldiers and nationalistic spirit of Pakistani nation. At the
onset of war Indian Army Chief Gen JN Chaudhuri was so sure of victory that he
bragged he will have his breakfast in Lahore Gymkhana Club next morning. After
losing the war badly, India tried to hide the defeat at its maximal through
false reporting in the media. Despite all the efforts the truth cannot be hidden
and the war in the words of one of its most distinguished commanders, Lt. Gen
Harbakhsh Singh, was “A catalogue of lost victories”.
Whenever called upon to defend the country against any act of aggression, our
armed forces and countrymen have always risen to the occasion and established
new chapters of glory. The essence of courage, bravery and unity spotted in
1965, where the nation rallied behind the armed forces to foil the enemy’s
design, was once again sighted when the menace of terrorism challenged the writ
of the state. Initially, surprised by the attacks, the terror-hit nation
gradually mustered up its courage and stood up with Pakistan Armed forces to
fight against the terrorism till the last terrorist’s elimination.
With the launch of operation Zarb-e-Azb, on 15 June 2014, the previously divided
nation then opted to support the government and military in this decision. This
was the time again when the world witnessed the political, defense and civilian
sectors of the country on one page. This comprehensive operation involved 30,000
Pakistani soldiers and unstinted support of the entire nation. This was asserted
by the Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif “the battle against terrorism
cannot be won by the armed forces alone. “It is encouraging to see the entire
nation pursuing this national effort with a great sense of purpose”
6 September, also reminisced as Yom-e-Difa, is the day celebrated every year to
revive the spirit of sacrifices made in 1965. We pay homage to our heroes who
dedicated their highly valued lives to secure our future. We not only celebrate
this day as a national day to commemorate the supreme sacrifices of our soldiers
of 1965 but to make the world figure out that we are strong enough to defend our
country whenever it demands without any second thought on it.
This year the Defense day is expected to be celebrated with more zeal and zest,
compared to the previous years, as the defenders of nation have once again
succeeded in shielding the state by paying ultimate price of their lives in the
line of duty to uproot terrorism. As a consequence, overall security situation
has now improved and terrorist attacks in Pakistan have dropped to a six year
low since 2008.
The latest missiles, tanks, guns, army aviation helicopters and armament being
used by Engineers, Electrical and Mechanical Corps, Army Air Defense, Signals,
Army Service Corps and Army Medical Corps are displayed live on this day in a
parade to tell the world that Pakistan at all the fronts is all equipped and
organized to counter its enemies. No force on earth can undo Pakistan. In any
testing time either it is in the form of an internal insurgency or external
threat our military forces are vigilant to take challenges and squash the enemy
on land, in air and water.
All that we need to recall on this day is that on each of us, particularly on
the younger generation, their lies some responsibilities which we need to
fulfill. We should know the value of sacrifices laid by our defenders and never
be reluctant to pay the price in blood to serve the country. The most essential
fact of all is that in future we would only be able to defend our country if
there is unity between our armed forces and the people and between our armed
forces and government organizations. The entire nation needs to stay united and
must never forget the age-old adage that ‘united we stand, divided we fall’.
(The author is Fatima Jinnah Women University student)