The National Assembly on Monday unanimously approved a resolution hailing the armed forces’ “befitting response” to India’s unprovoked military aggression during last year’s May conflict.

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 dubbed “Marka-i-Haq” (Battle of Truth) by the state.

Today, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar moved the resolution, which stated that the NA paid “rich tributes to the gallant armed forces of Pakistan”.

It noted that the armed forces, under the leadership and command of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir, “launched Operation Bunyanum Marsoos on May 10, 2025, delivering a befitting response to this aggression”.

The NA deplored that in the “aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist incident on April 22, 2025 in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, a malicious campaign was immediately orchestrated by the Indian government, and amplified by its state-sponsored media, to baselessly implicate Pakistan without any evidence or investigation, despite the fact that the incident was categorically condemned by the Government of Pakistan”.

The resolution condemned that despite PM Shehbaz’s “sincere and generous offer” to participate in any neutral, transparent, and credible investigation “into what clearly appeared to be an overt false-flag operation, India proceeded to launch an unprovoked airstrike on Pakistan on May 6, 2025, targeting innocent civilians”.

The NA commended the “bravery and operational excellence of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), which swiftly established air superiority and shot down multiple Indian aircraft, including the much-hyped and pride of the Indian Air Force ‘Rafale’ jets”.

It also extended heartfelt gratitude to every officer, soldier, airman and sailor of the armed forces on the battlefield for “making Operation Bunyanum Marsoos successful through their courage, professionalism and sacrifice”.

The resolution highlighted that the armed forces destroyed an Indian brigade headquarters, as well as Brahmos facilities that had “fired missiles in Pakistan”. It added that PAF’s JF-17 Thunder jets “destroyed India’s $1.5 billion most sophisticated S-400 air defence asset”.

The NA also praised the navy for its “strategic preparedness in giving a robust response with remarkable agility to the enemy and also successfully thwarted intrusion attempts to attack Pakistan”. “Consequently, the enemy was forced to retreat,” it added.

The resolution honoured the martyrs of the armed forces for laying down their lives in the line of duty and inflicting a “humiliating defeat upon a numerically superior enemy across all domains of warfare, including land, air, sea and cyber”.

It further acknowledged the “valuable contribution and technical expertise of Pakistan’s cyber warfare experts in effectively countering numerous cyber-attacks by the notorious Indian hackers”.

“In response to these attacks, a large number of India’s strategic infrastructure was rendered dysfunctional and paralysed,” it added.

The NA also acknowledged the “valuable support of the entire nation, including elected representatives from the government and opposition benches”.

The NA warned India “in unequivocal terms that Pakistan’s desire for peace should not be misconstrued as weakness”.

“Any misadventure against Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity will not be tolerated and Pakistan’s defence forces will hit back with all their might and main,” it affirmed, echoing remarks made by CDF Munir on Sunday during a ceremony held to mark Marka-i-Haq’s anniversary.

The NA reaffirmed an “unwavering resolve and determination of the nation to stand with the armed forces of Pakistan in defending the geographical and ideological frontiers of the motherland, come what may”.

India has lost credibility on global stage, NA Speaker says

NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said that after Marka-i-Haq, India had lost global credibility and that its false narratives against Pakistan had been exposed on an international stage.

He noted that Pakistan’s response to Operation Sindoor forced India to withdraw, turning the operation “into a symbol of failure and humiliation”.

He paid rich tribute to every officer and airman of the Pakistan Air Force, especially to Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu, for their “exemplary professionalism, courage, and outstanding performance”. He also extended heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to Admiral Naveed Ashraf and all officers and sailors of the Pakistan Navy.

Sadiq emphasised that India’s “false propaganda and fabricated narrative” had been completely exposed before the international community, and that Indian media had lost credibility on the global stage, as the world now “clearly recognised” that the Pahalgam incident was a false flag operation.

He stressed that Pakistan remained a peace-loving country, highlighting that its recent mediation efforts in the Gulf demonstrated its commitment to global peace and stability. He further stated that Pakistan would continue to raise its voice in support of the oppressed people of India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Sadiq said that durable peace in South Asia was directly linked to the just resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations and right to self-determination of the people of India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He added that India “must ultimately come to the negotiating table and grant the Kashmiri people their legitimate rights”.

He also strongly condemned India’s continued water aggression and its attempts to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, calling them “unilateral and illegal”. He asserted that Pakistan reserved the right to “respond appropriately at every level”.

The Speaker urged the international parliamentary community to take serious notice of India’s expansionist mindset, which he said continued to pose a threat to regional and international peace.

Paying tribute to the martyrs of the conflict, Sadiq said that the nation would “remember with deep respect and gratitude the brave sons and daughters of the soil, who sacrificed their lives while defending the homeland and safeguarding its sovereignty”. He prayed for the elevation of their ranks.

Media walks out in protest of forced terminations, non-payments

The session also witnessed a walkout by journalists from the press gallery in protest of mass forced terminations by Suno TV and the non-payment of salaries by another TV channel.

A delegation of MNAs and senators, including PPP MNA Shazia Marri, MNA Sehar Kamran, Senator Palwasha Khan, MNA Nasir Butt and Senator Abid Sher Ali of the PML-N, subsequently visited the press room to discuss the issue, alongside Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.

Marri, Kamran and MQM-P senior leader Syed Aminul Haq, alongside others, spoke about the plight faced by media personnel, particularly the non-payment of salaries, while PTI members raised party slogans.

Responding to the journalists’ concerns, Tarar announced that ads for Dawn were being resumed. He said that they have been released for Dawn TV and a settlement will soon be reached with the newspaper as well.

The minister also said that the federal government as well as the governments of Punjab and Sindh were giving ads to the mainstream media, but the KP government was only feeding ads to social media to malign the federal government.

“Today the issue will be resolved,” he added. “However you do it — sit down with your journalists … all the burden falls on junior employees, this is not at all acceptable.”

He added that the federal government could arbitrate if so desired by the negotiating parties, noting, “Representatives of both houses are here and in good numbers.”

“Our biggest responsibility is dues,” Tarar further said, adding that he was satisfied that the government had paid all dues in a timely manner and correctly, with employees as their first priority.

The walkout ended after the discussion and the minister’s assurances that he would take up the matter with relevant parties.

Addressing the NA later, Tarar said that all government advertisements had been halted to Suno TV — which recently fired 170 employees — until it provided an explanation for the action and what could be done to arbitrate the issue. In addition, he said that the management of another TV channel that had not paid its employees for three months had been summoned to Islamabad for discussions in order to solve the issue.

He stated that the protesting journalists were satisfied with the assurances and had decided to end the protest.