CDF Munir warns Pakistan's response to any future ‘misadventure’ will be ‘extremely widespread, painful’

AI Summary

Chief of Defence Forces Munir issued a strong warning to potential adversaries, affirming that any future aggression against Pakistan would incur severe consequences. He emphasized that in past conflicts with India, Pakistan demonstrated its military capabilities and willingness to defend its sovereignty.

Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir warned on Sunday that any future “misadventure” against Pakistan will result in “extremely far-reaching and painful” consequences for the enemy. 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. CDF 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 warned: “Our enemies should know that if any attempt is made in the future to carry out a misadventure against Pakistan, then the impact of war would not be limited, but extremely widespread, dangerous, far-reaching and painful.” At the outset of his speech, the army chief 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 midnight of May 6/7 till May 10. He asserted this was responded to “with full national 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 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, exaggeration, warmongering and misleading imagination of limited aggression,” CDF Munir said. “Each time, not only did Pakistan unveil the wrong assumptions of the enemy, but also served it a decisive defeat. In this war as well, India once again was a victim of its obsolete and self-delusional thinking,” he asserted. The army chief highlighted that the objective of Operation Bunyanum Marsoos was to “unravel the enemy’s behaviour under which, to divert attention from its internal failures, it creates war hysteria by blaming Pakistan for every self-inflicted incident”. CDF Munir said India was under the false assumption that it could “change the balance of power and prove its dominance over the region by making Pakistan a target of its military aggression and diplomatically isolating it”. “But in reality, global and defence experts know that India’s ambitions proved to be much larger than its stature and capabilities,” COAS Munir remarked, asserting that Pakistan’s armed forces were not intimidated by the dominance of power and will never do so. He paid tribute to the martyrs of Marka-i-Haq who “paid the price of this victory with their blood”, including women, the elderly and children killed in Indian strikes. “All martyrs of Marka-i-Haq and their bereaved families are our crown. Your sacrifices are the guarantor of our independence and everlasting debts,” the army chief said. “We consider our martyrs an amanat, our power and responsibility, and our success a favour of God,” he added. The army chief proceeded to express his gratitude to the president, the prime minister, the federal cabinet, the national and provincial political leadership, and all political parties for their “everlasting political wisdom, foresight and leadership” that accorded Pakistan success. “The national leadership, all government institutions and the Pakistani nation gave a message as a single unit that any compromise on the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and national honour is unacceptable,” he declared. CDF Munir stated that Pakistan also “achieved success on the diplomatic front” as its leaders and representatives conveyed Pakistan’s stance on the global stage. “Similarly, there is no parallel found to the way the Pakistani media, the journalist community, and especially our youth, thwarted the enemy’s propaganda, cyberwarfare and psychological tactics,” he added. The army chief highlighted that the conflict was not won on just the battlefield, but also “in every section of society” at the national level. Emphasising that a country’s true power lies with its nation’s unity of thought and action, and patriotism, he lauded the “comprehensive national unity” displayed by the public. “When the clouds of war