PAKISTAN PERSPECTIVE

Islamabad organised an official commemoration of Marka-e-Haq — the Pakistani name for the response to Operation Sindoor — with a special tribute to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Geo TV covered the event as a moment of national pride, highlighting Pakistan's improved 'global standing' as a regional force for peace, per Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's statements.

But the most significant message came from Defence Minister Asif, who signed an unequivocal warning to New Delhi in his commemoration address: 'Pakistan's response to any future miscalculation will be more intense.' Dawn reported this alongside expert analysis that the next confrontation between the two countries would be 'more dangerous' than Sindoor-Marka-e-Haq.

Islamabad's rhetoric operates on two contradictory registers: peace (Pakistan as a 'regional force for peace', Iran-USA mediator role) and deterrence (more intense response, air force celebrated). This duality reflects Pakistan's uncomfortable position: too economically weak to seek escalation, yet too wounded in national pride to extend a hand to New Delhi without preconditions. The Peshawar consulate closure, seen from Islamabad, is a signal that Washington does not protect Pakistan unconditionally.