LAHORE: A session of the Punjab Assembly, held under the chairmanship of Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan, passed a resolution lauding the Pakistani military’s successful “Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos”.

The session, which began two and a half hours behind schedule, focused heavily on the recent escalation of tensions with India.

The resolution, presented by Deputy Speaker Zaheer Iqbal Chanar, condemned India’s “cowardly attack” on May 6-7, dubbed “Operation Sindoor”, which targeted mosques and madaris in Pakistan urban areas and Azad Kashmir, resulting in civilian casualties.

India justified these attacks using the “false operation of Pahalgam” on April 22 as a pretext.

The assembly’s resolution celebrated the Pakistan military’s retaliatory “Operation Bunyan-am-Marsoos” on the morning of May 10, claiming a decisive victory. The House extended its congratulations to the military leadership, the prime minister and the Pakistan Air Force.

On the initiative of Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafique, Speaker Khan left his seat and addressed the House as an ordinary member on Indian aggression and affirmed that the armed forces and political parties had responded appropriately to India’s actions.

MPA Ali Haider Gilani alleged the involvement of India’s RAW agency in acts of terrorism within Pakistan. Treasury MPAs Ramesh Singh Arora, Muhammad Bilal Yamin, Zakia Shahnawaz and Ahmed Iqbal echoed the sentiments of a decisive victory, saying that India would be unable to recover from its defeat.

Deputy Speaker Chanar intervened to silence opposition member Hassan Malik, who attempted to criticise political leaders instead of focusing on the conflict, disallowing him to speak. Opposition members reiterated calls for the release of the founder of PTI, stating that all political differences should be forgotten in light of the conflict, as they fought a digital war on the front line.

MPAs Mehwish Sultana and Sara Ahmed submitted a resolution proposing that May 10 be designated as “Victory Day”.

The assembly also unanimously passed a resolution presented by PML-N MPA Malik Saeed Ahmed Khan, mourning the death of Prof Senator Sajid Mir.

Following the completion of the agenda, the Punjab Assembly session was adjourned for Tuesday afternoon.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2025