WEB DESK: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the Yadgar-i-Fatah monument in Islamabad on Thursday night, ahead of Pakistan’s 79th Independence Day.
Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf also attended the inauguration ceremony. The event began with the national anthem, performed by a military band, while senior military officers and government officials were also present.
A large contingent of military, paramilitary and police personnel presented a guard of honour during the ceremony.
The monument has been built to honour Pakistan’s martyrs and commemorate what the Pakistani state describes as its victory over India during the brief military confrontation in May. The confrontation followed the April 22 Pahalgam attack and continued until a ceasefire was reached on May 10 following Pakistan’s Operation Bunyanum Marsoos. Pakistan has referred to the confrontation as “Marka-i-Haq”, or the “Battle of Truth”.
The Yadgar-i-Fatah features five archways, representing the five pillars of Islam as well as what the monument describes as five pillars of Pakistan — the government, military, media, people and the ideology underpinning the nation.
The archways also symbolise the three branches of the armed forces — Army, Air Force and Navy — along with cyber-defence and space warfare.
A light and sound show was presented as part of the inauguration ceremony, with moving images projected onto the monument. State television reported that one sequence depicted Pakistan’s history and military journey leading up to Marka-i-Haq.
Scenes depicting moments from the May confrontation were also projected onto the monument, including visuals showing villagers and Punjab Rangers jointly engaging Indian drones.
The ceremony concluded with a flypast by Pakistan Air Force fighter jets, which deployed flares across the night sky over the newly inaugurated monument.
