On Pakistan's Independence Day, we must revisit the essence of freedom, that it is not a one-time reward, but a continuous responsibility. As the Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared in Lahore on October 30, 1947:
"There is no power on earth that can undo Pakistan."
His resolute words echoed the determination of a nation forged in fire, resolved to endure.
"We are going through fire: the sunshine has yet to come," he acknowledged, urging a people battered by violence and displacement to hold fast to unity, faith, and discipline. For Jinnah, independence was never a finite event, it was a living, evolving pledge demanding constant vigilance, sacrifice, and collective strength.
The necessity of this ongoing struggle is illustrated by recent events. A fly, dwelling in filth, eyes a spotless china shop. Powerless to move even a single cup, it seeks out a bull, creeps into its ear, and buzzes. Maddened, the bull thrashes blindly, destroying the shop the fly alone could never harm. The fly hovers back, triumphant. This grim fable played out in real life not long ago. In the aftermath of the Pahalgam incident, India responded like the agitated bull, reckless, provoked, and dangerously misled. Believing Pakistan to be the fragile china shop, it lashed out, only to find itself charging into a far grimmer reality, more akin to a butcher's shop, where the bull itself is bloodied. India's miscalculation lay in failing to grasp the nature of terrorism. Like flies, terrorists are stateless, chaotic, and opportunistic. They thrive on provoking disproportionate responses. To conflate their actions with a nation like Pakistan, one that has been a repeated victim of terrorism and continues to fight it, is not only inaccurate but unjust.
When India claimed to possess "incontrovertible evidence" against Pakistan, we rightly demanded proof. Pakistan has consistently rejected knee-jerk scapegoating and has instead called for cooperation and dialogue. As political philosopher Hannah Arendt warned, "Loneliness is the common ground of terror"; a society cut off from empathy and communication becomes fertile ground for extremism. In contrast, Pakistan has defended its people and sovereignty without abandoning its moral compass. Even when foreign jets crossed our skies under the pretense of targeting militants, the missiles struck homes and places of worship, a tragic reminder of assumptions gone awry. Throughout, Pakistan's response remained proportionate and deliberate. We did not lash out blindly. We responded with restraint, recognising the difference between sovereign defence and blind aggression.
And the outcome is clear. Those who expected Pakistan to shatter have seen the opposite. When the dust settled, Pakistan remained militarily unbroken, diplomatically composed, and morally grounded. From wars and sanctions to propaganda and pressure, we have met each challenge with resolve, not panic. Our sovereignty, tested many times over, remains intact. Our resilience, not our rhetoric, defines us.
Yet independence cannot be understood solely through the lens of external threats. As the Quaid reminded us, freedom also demands internal reckoning. "That freedom can never be attained by a nation without suffering and sacrifice," he said, "but I can say with confidence that... we shall emerge triumphant."
A Persian fable speaks to this need: shipwrecked sailors build a boat and row through the storm, but only later realise they never lifted anchor. Their efforts, though intense, were futile. So too with nations. Greed, division, and indifference can anchor even the sincerest efforts. For Pakistan, these anchors often appear in the form of sectarianism, political polarisation, and intolerance. To truly move forward, we must first free ourselves from within. True independence means casting off both foreign chains and domestic complacency; it means choosing reform over stagnation, accountability over blame, and unity over division.
After 1947, as Pakistan grappled with poverty, partition, and uncertainty, Jinnah gave his people a message of hope. "We are in the midst of unparalleled difficulties... we have been through dark days of apprehension and anguish," he said, but he believed we would rise with confidence. That belief remains as vital today as it was then. Just as we once dismantled an empire, we must now dismantle the internal obstacles to justice, equality, and progress. The challenges are formidable, but not insurmountable.
This Independence Day, as we celebrate, especially in light of the recent display of strength and precision by our Air Force, we must see in it a reflection of what this nation is capable of when it rises above its divisions and commits to a unified purpose. From 1947 to 2025, Pakistan's journey has been one of perseverance and resilience. We have stumbled, but we have never surrendered. We honour the sacrifices of our founders and martyrs not just with speeches and flags, but by continuing the struggle they began. In doing so, we reaffirm the timeless conviction of Quaid-i-Azam: no power on earth can undo Pakistan. With unity, faith, and discipline as our compass, we can weather every storm, and shape a future as strong, sovereign, and enduring as the ideals we were founded upon.