Pakistan Army Praised In Extremist Gatherings Under Difa-e-Watan Council
New Delhi: In a concerning development that underscores the deepening nexus between Pakistan’s military and radical Islamist elements, a series of orchestrated gatherings across Pakistan have been held to glorify the Pakistan Army’s so-called “Operation Bunyan Marsoos” with extremist rhetoric flowing freely from the stage.
Among the groups actively participating were Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat, both designated terror organisations. These events, carefully choreographed to appear as spontaneous outpourings of national pride, were instead marked by incendiary speeches, veiled threats to India, and glorification of religious warfare. One of the most controversial figures to speak was Mufti Tariq Masood, a hardline cleric known for his inflammatory sermons.
Praising the Pakistan Army’s actions, Masood declared: “Our enemy calls our army a religious army and those who are traitors to the country call this army a secular army After winning this war, we came to know and became convinced that our army is not a secular army. It is an army that has the passion for martyrdom and sacrifices its life in the name of religion and Islam, in the name of Allah.”
Adding to the provocative narrative, Allama Rashid Mahmood Soomro, General Secretary of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Sindh), openly threatened India while reinforcing the clerical establishment’s allegiance to the military: “My leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman challenged Modi from Minar-e-Pakistan Lahore… We told Modi that we like to have breakfast in India… we also like to hoist the flag of Pakistan over Delhi.”
He further boasted about Pakistan’s supposed military feats, claiming that Pakistani forces had “destroyed the pride of Israel by shooting down Israeli drones.” He also claimed that the Pakistani Army shot down Rafale jets and also destroyed the S-400 air system, built in Russia. These fantastical and unverified claims have been dismissed by defence analysts as propaganda, but their wider impact on radicalising youth and promoting militancy remains a serious concern.
While there has been no official statement from the Pakistan Army directly endorsing the DWC events, the absence of condemnation and the scale of coordination strongly suggest tacit approval. Intelligence sources indicate the gatherings were neither impeded nor monitored — unlike civil society protests, which often face crackdowns.