Why Pakistan must stand united and respond with resolve
Our differences can wait, our homeland cannot
OPINION | May 10, 2025
By Ahmed Nofel Siddiqui
An image showing the damage dealt by Indian missiles.
IN THE aftermath of the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Indian-Occupied Kashmir — which tragically claimed the lives of 26 tourists — India wasted no time in pointing the finger at Pakistan. The swiftness of the blame was suspicious. Within five minutes of the attack being reported, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to accuse Pakistan of the atrocity, followed closely by other members of the ruling BJP.
How did they manage to reach such a definitive conclusion so quickly remains a mystery. Pakistan, in a display of transparency and responsibility, offered an independent investigation into the incident — an offer India flatly refused. If this isn’t a glaring sign of a manufactured narrative, what is?
But India didn’t stop at accusations. In the dead of night, it launched missile strikes on civilian areas in nine Pakistani cities on 7th May. Bahawalpur bore the brunt, losing seven innocent lives to an unprovoked and cowardly assault.
Pictures of India’s late-night missile attack on Pakistan.
Pakistan, in defence of its sovereignty, struck back decisively — downing five Indian fighter jets, including three of the highly-touted French Dassault Rafales. These jets, long celebrated as elite ones, fell swiftly to Pakistan’s Chinese-made J-10 fighters. It was a statement: we may be outgunned, but we are not outmatched.
The debris of an Indian aircraft shot down by Pakistan
While India tried to dismiss the incident and peddled unverified claims of downing Pakistani JF-17s and F-16s, they failed to produce any evidence. In contrast, Pakistan's account was swiftly corroborated by credible news organisations such as Reuters and CNN. Indian media spiraled into damage control mode, revealing once again a pattern of deception that the world had already witnessed during the Pulwama episode.
Indian media falsely claims Pakistan’s Army Chief, Syed Asim Munir, has been arrrested
Reuters described the air clash as the largest air combat engagement of the modern era — one that will be analysed by military strategists around the globe. Against all odds — outnumbered, underfunded, and under-equipped — the Pakistan Air Force proved its mettle, handing a humiliating defeat to a numerically superior foe.
It is in times like these that the impact of Israel’s crimes in Gaza becomes clear. India never had concrete proof to justify an attack on Pakistan; it was the international community’s impunity, and silence over Israel’s crimes in Gaza that gave India the necessary confidence to take such a step. But now, seeing as we have been attacked, we must retaliate.
Though Pakistan’s economy cannot sustain war for long, we must defend our sovereignty against all odds; we must never, ever allow India to infringe upon our freedoms and security. If we do not respond to India today, we will be giving them a free hand to violate the sanctity of our beloved nation at will, and that simply cannot be allowed to happen.
Although a war may end, the lives lost in battle never come back. Hundreds — if not thousands — will be left fatherless, widowed, childless, and though civilians like me may return to normal life sooner or later, the families of soldiers will be ripped apart, devastated and destroyed forever. War is a poison that spreads fast and continues to fester for generations. But, at this time and hour, such sacrifices are necessary, we must chug this poison, and we must shoulder this heavy burden to defend our country. This is a debt we owe to our nation in return for everything it has given us; safety, peace, identity, and, for me personally, a reason to live.
Though war has its disadvantages, and many people will be forced to sacrifice their lives for this great nation, a moment of grief, despair, and suffering is infinitely better than a lifetime of disgrace, and suffering.
And this is the reason why I believe Pakistan must respond to India with all its might and force, because if we do not retaliate now, we will make a fool of ourselves, and paint ourselves as a weak nation, incapable of overcoming our internal differences even during times of war. If we do not respond now, we will give India the confidence to attack us and violate our sovereignty whenever it wishes.
The future of our country rests on our shoulders. We must abandon any differences we may have, we have no choice but to walk hand-in-hand with each other to defend this great nation. Our differences can wait, our homeland cannot. This is the country that gave us birth, nurtured us, it was always loyal to us, and now at this vulnerable hour our motherland needs us, and by God we cannot forsake her!
As we stand at the brink of war with an enemy multiple times our size, an enemy which boasts an economy much, much bigger than ours, and a military far better equipped than ours, we must unite under one flag — the same flag that our forefathers fought for over eight decades ago. Our individual divisions must not be allowed to impede our country’s unity. Without us there is no Pakistan! The enemy is at the gate, let it not find a house divided! We have the rest of time to fight each other, but this time we must fight for our country! Our sovereignty! Our motherland! This time the fight is for Pakistan!
Patria o muerte!
Pakistan Zindabad!
The writer is a student of international relations and can be reached at: @ahmednofel443@gmail.com