By Beena Khan

This year Pakistan has much to celebrate, as the country turns 78, the entire nation has come together for much awaited fanfare. Civil-Military relationship is better than before, economy is getting better and Pakistan’s diplomatic ties are stronger than before.

Since its inception, Pakistan has had to struggle, Allama Iqbal, frustrated with the state of affairs of the British aggression towards the Muslims, dreamed of a separate homeland, which came to fruition after immense struggle of leaders like Quaid – Azam, meetings and internal politics ruled supreme. Quaid-e-Azam, like many other notable leaders never relented, which marked the beginning of a beautiful journey.

The journey of a separate homeland for the Muslims, the creation of Pakistan. The land that was once one, was divided, but the separation did not come without a price. It came at prices of precious lives lost in the struggle and the 1947 migration itself. Pakistan was created by the blood of the martyrs. Pakistan meaning the land of the pure has stood tall against bigger nations, never compromising on its fundamental values, be it an issue of Kashmir or the issue of the bloodshed in Gaza, the entire nation is united.

Freedom for every individual is a personal matter, those who were born and brought up in the beautiful country might not understand the kind of sacrifices made to get to this point. Take the case of Palestine for that matter or even Kashmir, their struggle for freedom continues to this day. Those who lived through the discrimination, torture both economic and psychological and in some instances physical understand the core value of freedom as they struggled to achieve it.

Saima, a student of Social Sciences says that her view of freedom is, “to be able to live without any restrictions’, while her grandfather disagrees, “you know what freedom is? Freedom is to go out, meet your peers and trade without the fear of losing clients based on your religion. I have migrated from India and when I tell you that my father struggled to keep his business would be an understatement.” Many who migrated had similar stories to tell, that freedom is priceless and living in constant fear of one’s life or property is a deterrent in any progress.

For the youth of Pakistan, freedom means something completely different, “I think freedom is to be able to express my views on the subject I feel strongly about without any judgement”, says Akbar, a recent graduate. In his mind, freedom of expression is of paramount importance.

Meanwhile, Sidra, a recently married a girl, is of the opinion that freedom is to be able to make choices. In both instances the individuals are right as the essence of true freedom lies in the core values of freedom of expression and being able to choose for oneself. Another core value of freedom is the basic ‘right to life’ which the generations before the youth unfortunately could not exercise just prior to the partition, or during wars.

Nowadays, the youth is well-informed due to the digital age, however they have fortunately been spared the true suffering that conflict brings. It is very heartening to see the youth to be so involved and informed about subjects like Climate Change and Market Economy. They are the future and they hold the key to making it a globally successful nation. Also when one talks about freedom, it is important to note that it should be exercised with ‘responsibility’.

Dr. Farhan Essa, who is an honorary Commander in the Navy expressed his pleasure,”Freedom is everything and the way our armed forces took on the enemy it’s a marvelous feat, we won, but not only along the borders, we won international respect, our economy is booming, our diplomatic ties are getting stronger and the world is witnessing that Pakistan is a force to be reckoned with. There is much to celebrate this year.”

Recently, in its 78th year of Independence, India provoked the borders again on 7th May, 2025, the all-out war did not happen but the situation and friction escalated very rapidly, with two nuclear powers on the brink of war, worrying the international community. And just when India least expected it, Pakistan struck, it defended its borders, downing state-of-the-art drones, which had they locked into any electronic device would have caused immense damage, but the strategy that Pakistan’s armed forces employed stunned not only India but the world at large. Hence the name ‘Bunyan-ul-Marsoos, or Impenetrable Wall’ under the operation of Marka-e-Haq, for the right cause. Pakistan downed their Rafale Jets with their J17 Thunder, no one expected Pakistan to have the technology or the right strategy to retaliate, but unbeknownst to the world, Pakistan’s armed forces stood ready. The result. Pakistan stood victorious yet again, earning the respect of nations globally.

Senior Armed Forces’ Veterans have a much clearer perspective about the behind the scenes tensions between the two nuclear nations, “India like to, time and again try our capability, if you recall the Pathankot incident, they thought this time it would be similar, little did they know that their drones were downed by manual guns’, explains one senior official veteran. “Pakistan showed the world what it was capable of by having a quiet strategy in place, and when it was time to strike, Pakistan did, causing great distress to the enemy”, said another senior veteran.

The tense situation between the two nations subsided because of a ceasefire agreement, but one should not mistake Pakistan’s smaller area as a sign of weakness, time and time again this nation has proved its prowess in military strategy. One can witness this and say it’s actually not about the arms, it is about the strategy and the wisdom to use arms when necessary; with the support of the whole nation.

Events have been planned all across the country as 14th August dawns upon us, in this instance DHA Karachi has also started the much awaited celebrations, with the apt theme of Marka-e-Haq, car rallies, music concert and most importantly tree plantation drive are all planned.

A sense of festivity is in the air, and DHA Karachi, true to its name will be celebrating on several fronts including encouraging people to plant trees. It is also very poignant to note that plants have a colour green, just like the green of a flag.

The freedom we all enjoy was earned through sacrifices, and never to forget the blood of the martyrs,

“we are proud sons of this nation and when our brother is martyred fighting the enemy, we feel a sense of pride as we all know, we will lay our lives down for this nation”, said a senior army veteran. 

The value of freedom, this year is felt amongst all, and it is very heartening to see all age groups and socio-economic groups unite as the new day dawns upon the nation called Pakistan, the land of the pure.