Hamid Mir
Why was the four-day war with India in May 2025 called a battle of truth in Pakistan? The reason was that India sought the justification for this war with a lie and started the war with a lie – Pakistan’s response was based on truth. On April 22, 2025, Pakistan was accused of a terrorist incident in the tourist destination of Pahalgam in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the Indus Waters Treaty was unilaterally abrogated on April 23. False accusations were made against Pakistan without any evidence for several days and then on May 7, missiles were fired at Pakistan in the name of Operation Sindhoor. The night these attacks were carried out, I will never forget that night. An Indian female journalist sent me a message on WhatsApp and asked if you were okay? I asked what happened? She said that her TV channel was broadcasting breaking news that Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad had been occupied by India. Shehbaz Sharif has been arrested and General Asim Munir has fled Pakistan. I told this female journalist that everything is a lie and there is no sign of the Indian army in Islamabad. Then I came to know that a war has started between Pakistan and India and lies are being used as a weapon of war by India to make Pakistanis despair and spread chaos everywhere. Pakistani media exposed the truth and the truth against this lie.
Then, when seven Indian planes were shot down and the international media also confirmed the claims of the Pakistani media, this war was declared a war of truth. Behind Pakistan’s victory in the war of truth was the unity of the nation that was seen after a long time. The whole world saw that when the people stand behind their army, the army can crush an enemy five times bigger than itself.
This is why the first anniversary of the war of truth was celebrated with great enthusiasm across the country. This enthusiasm was showing that the trust of the people does not need any Form 47. When an individual or institution wins the trust of the people through its performance, then even the biggest enemy cannot mislead the people. On the completion of one year of the war of truth, it is also important to say that we must celebrate the victory but be careful of the enemy.
The enemy is both cunning and vile. The war of May 2025 was not started by Pakistan, but by India. The victory in this war raised Pakistan’s political and diplomatic stature worldwide. It is not easy to maintain the position that Pakistan has achieved by bringing about a ceasefire in Iran and the United States. Today, Pakistan has emerged as the guardian of peace in the world, but this new position of Pakistan is unacceptable for India’s ruling party, the BJP. BJP’s politics are based on hatred, confrontation and lies. The BJP government is continuing to conspire against Pakistan in collaboration with Israel, and that is why the US Foreign Affairs magazine warned on May 4, 2026, of the danger of a new war between Pakistan and India. The danger of a new war between Pakistan and India exists because it is India’s state policy to spread unrest and instability in Pakistan. To counter this danger, it is very important to maintain unity and solidarity in Pakistan. For this unity and solidarity, the political leadership needs to focus on good governance.
The major requirement of good governance is that despite all the economic challenges, at least the economic pressure on the common man should be reduced. We saw that when the entire nation was celebrating the first anniversary of the struggle for truth, the price of petrol was increased from Rs 400 per Litre to Rs 415 per litre. Earlier, the levy on petrol was Rs 103 per litre. This levy was increased to Rs 117 per litre, while the IMF has been demanding that this levy should be up to Rs 80 per litre. The main reason for collecting an additional levy of Rs 37 per litre on petrol is that the FBR could not achieve the tax collection targets, so the common man is being made a scapegoat to achieve these targets. The unbearable increase in petrol prices has created such a storm of inflation that it has become impossible for the common man to buy a sacrificial animal on Eid al-Adha. Nowadays, wherever I go, common people stop and say, “I salute you for the truth you showed in the struggle for truth, but please tell some truth for the people as well.” The truth is that when US President Donald Trump repeatedly praises Pakistani leadership, our enemies’ hearts burn. When Iran’s Revolutionary Guards allow Pakistani ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, we think that Pakistan has really done a miracle. Both America and Iran are happy with Pakistan, but despite this miracle, why are the people of Pakistan not getting any relief? The war between Iran and America has affected the entire world’s economy, but petrol has not become as expensive in India and Bangladesh as it has been made expensive in Pakistan? Where is our good governance? Our ministers never tire of telling us stories of corruption during the Imran Khan regime, but a story about a high-rise building on One Constitution Avenue has brought down the good governance of the Shehbaz Sharif government. On one hand, we see cracks within the PML-N. PML-N members are cyber-attacking each other, and on the other hand, the gap between PML-N and the PPP is widening. Cyber commandos of both parties are accusing each other of corruption. The federal government of the PML-N may suffer the most from this cold war that started between the PML-N and the PPP. The war between Iran and the US has covered the weaknesses of the Shehbaz Sharif government, but they should remember that Form 47 is useful for winning elections, but when it comes to confronting the conspiracies of the enemy, then Form 47 is not useful, but the full trust of the people. The trust of the people is only gained by the performance that the Pakistani armed forces showed in the May 2025 Battle of Truth. Raising this question when the celebration of the Battle of Truth is also a requirement of honesty: when will a new Battle of Truth begin to save the people from inflation?
