New Delhi: In the middle of the night, as thousands of residents found themselves stranded on roads around the capital, the Pakistani government and generals moved ahead with a rather grand Independence Day celebration: the inauguration of a monument commemorating what the government describes as its “splendid victory” over India during the May 2025 military skirmish.
The Yadgar-i-Fatah, or Victory Memorial, was inaugurated in Islamabad by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It was a ceremony to honour Pakistan’s soldiers and commemorate Marka-e-Haq (Battle of Truth). In India, it is called Operation Sindoor, a four-day military confrontation between the two countries after the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack.
The ceremony was attended by the country’s political, military and judicial establishment: President Asif Ali Zardari; Chairman Senate Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani; Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq; Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar; Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi; Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir; Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu; Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf; federal ministers; provincial political leadership; parliamentarians; diplomats; and officers of the armed forces.
The symbolism was difficult to miss. The PM described the monument as a symbol of Pakistan’s resolve and determination and praised Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir for his leadership. Pakistan’s “remarkable triumph” in Marka-e-Haq, Sharif said, had enhanced the country’s prestige. A special light-and-sound show followed, projecting images of important chapters in Pakistan’s history and military journey onto the monument, including events associated with Marka-e-Haq.
At midnight, President Asif Ali Zardari hoisted the national flag at Yadgar-i-Fatah as the national anthem played.
Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir also presented special Yadgar-i-Fatah souvenirs to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif. And then there was the other side of the celebration.
Not everyone was happy.
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Celebration of independence
As Pakistan’s leadership gathered for the midnight ceremony, thousands of ordinary residents were left stranded on Islamabad’s roads, turning the capital into something resembling an Independence Day traffic experiment nobody had volunteered to participate in.
“While the rulers relished the new monument, literally tens of thousands of “sheep, slaves” were stranded on Murree Road, parts of Islamabad Highway, residents of I-8 literally under curfew for hours, Pakistani author Imtiaz Gul wrote on X.
“Just have a look on the roads of isb what general public is facing on the independence day,” X user Arslan Raza wrote.
Pakistan Reuters journalist Asif Shahzad shared a Google image of a completely choked Islamabad with the caption– “What kind of Independence is this that you need to cordon the city to celebrate?”
He then sarcastically answered his own question: “For the sake of home, endure a hundred pains—home is, after all, your own.”
Farhan Farooq Haider called Yadgar-i-Fatah a grave: “Makbraaa bana dia”
Another user, @masatmithizaat, offered a broader historical argument: “Yearly reminder: Pakistan was born out of a political struggle by a political party. The military did not participate in it, and the officer corps vehemently opposed it. This is a nation created by the vote of citizens, let no boot-wearing fauji tell you otherwise.”
Then the same Indian narratives that Pakistan aims to counter made a comeback as one angry Pakistan X user asked— “When will the cockroaches of Pakistan come out?”
“This is the same tragedy of strange countries that continues even today. When will these cockroaches come out or be brought out— nothing is known,” X user Naeem Gul added.
Then came the complaints about politics, the military, and who was not invited to the ceremony.
The only CM who could be seen at the event and on live TV was Maryam Nawaz. Pakistanis are asking, ‘What is behind this ‘undue lift’ to her?’
“Why only Mariam Safdar invited in this programme other provinces chief ministers are enemies of the Field Marshal. I hate him because of his undue lift to Mariam Safdar,” X user Guch49 wrote.
The ceremony also supplied plenty of material for Pakistan’s online satirists. Pehn Di Siri shared a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Saudi crown prince blowing toy trumpets and wrote: “Saudi Arabia and Turkey on Pakistan’s Independence Day”
Former Dawn editor, Cyril Almeida, also gave a suggestion: “CCD could earn a lot of goodwill… if it took out the bajas tonight…”
CCD stands for the Crime Control Department, a specialised and controversial police investigation unit of the Punjab Police. Established in early 2025 by the Punjab government under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the unit was created to tackle high-profile organised crime, gangs and serious offences in the province.
Then came perhaps the most ironic moment of the entire celebration.
In his speech, President Asif Ali Zardari shared how US President Donald Trump called Munir his ‘favourite Field Marshal’.
“The American President, taking the name of Syed Asim Munir 90 times, said that He is my best Field Marshal. Asim Munir is not his Field Marshal; he is our Field Marshal,” he added.
The line prompted smiles and applause from the stage. In the video, upon hearing this, Munir, along with Sharif, appeared to burst into a smile, and then joined the applause.
The president’s ‘ego-massaging’ of the country’s military head did not go down well with many. “There was a time when either PPP or PMLN would fight against the establishment, including one with the support of establishment but today both share the shade of security and blessings of power from GHQ. Pakistan politics is not at a turmoil rather at a standstill,” X user Majid Tamoor wrote on X.
Another X user, Ahmad Hassan Bobak, put the criticism even more bluntly: “This is not a celebration of freedom but rather the king has adorned the court to curry favor with the heirs !!”
(Edited by Ratan Priya)