NPC celebrates 78th Independence Day, Marka-e-Haq victory with national pride

World acknowledges Pakistan’s strength, resilience after Operation Bunyan-un-Marsous: Irfan  Rich tributes paid to NPC’s Founder Chairman Zahid Malik for promoting patriotism among youth  Faisal Zahid Malik terms Marka-e-Haq a landmark chapter in Pakistan’s history

Parliamentary Leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the Senate of Pakistan and renowned writer and intellectual of the country, Senator Irfan-ul-Haq Siddiqui on Thursday paid rich tributes to the armed forces, political leadership and above all the people of Pakistan for showing great resilience during the recent military conflict with India and showing unity in their ranks for the de-fence of the Motherland.

Siddiqui was addressing as Chief Guest the 78th Independence Day and Marka-e-Haq celebrations organized by the Nazriya Pakistan Council (NPC) at the Aiwan-e-Quaid, Fatima Jinnah Park.

Country Director of the International Labour Or-ganization (ILO) Mr Geir Thomas Tonstol was the Guest of Honour on the occasion.

Chairman of the NPC, Mian Muhammad Javed, Vice Chairman, Mr Faisal Zahid Malik, Executive Secretary of the NPC Mr Gauhar Zahid Malik re-ceived the guests upon arrival.

Member National Assembly (MNA), Mrs Farrukh Khan, Chairman of the Implementation Tribunal for Newspaper Employees (ITNE) Shahid Mehmood Khokhar, former Senator Razina Alam Khan, emi-nent criminologist Humaira Masihuddin, Amb Sala-huddin Chaudhry, Iram Mumtaz, prominent social figures, lawyers, members of the NPC executive committee attended the Independence Day celebra-tions and expressed their deep love and affection for their country and its defenders.

The Independence Day celebrations turned into one-of-a-kind Azadi Festival in which differently-abled students along with their ordinary peers gave superb performance in speech competition, song and tab-leau performance, painting and gymnastic and proved they were neither less-talented nor poorly-equipped. Muhammad Ansar, for instance, who had arrived on wheel chair affirmed in his speech that since he had made it to the event it showed he was a normal being and all those who thought he was handicapped in any way were in fact handicapped. Similarly, Fawad Alam a visually-impaired student of Class 5 from Gilgit Baltistan gave a captivating performance on Rabaab (a violin-like instrument) and won a standing ovation and Rs5,000 prize from Mr Faisal Zahid Malik.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui also participated in the flag-hoisting ceremony that is a tradition since the times of the Founder Chairman of the NPC, Mr Zahid Malik (late) who founded the council to promote Ideology of Pakistan back in 2010.

Siddiqui also planted a sapling on the occasion and witnessed performances by the young enthusiastic special children who delighted everyone with their alertness. Irfan Siddiqui was all praise for the spe-cial children and assured their organizations all support to make sure they are leading a successful life in society.

In his speech, Mr Irfan Siddiqui drew the attention of the audience to the respect and recognition Paki-stan achieved after victory over India in the 5-day military escalation (May 6-10, 2025). Our brave forces repulsed the attack with such planning and swiftness that the entire world acknowledged and recognized Pakistan an emerging military, political and economic power.

Pakistan after May 10 is different from Pakistan before May 10 and the credit goes to our armed forces and the Chief of the Army Staff, Field Mar-shal Asim Munir, said he. In his comment on the current political situation, Irfan Siddiqui said Paki-stan was not achieved through political agitation or sit-ins. Instead, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah led the political movement with ideological commitment and political dialogue.

He called upon everyone present in the hall to value independence since it is among those blessings which one usually values after losing it.

He also mentioned plight of the Palestinians suffer-ing in Gaza and the people of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJ&K) who are facing atrocities by the occupying Indian forces. Pakistan will continue to support them politically, morally and diplomatically, he said. Irfan Siddiqui also remembered and prayed for the Founder Chairman of the NPC, Mr Zahid Malik (late) who made great efforts to promote ideology of Pakistan among the people, particularly the youth of Paki-stan. The NPC he said “is the brainchild of my friend Zahid Malik who was a great patriot and champion for the cause of Islam and Kashmir. He also praised Faisal Zahid Malik and Gauhar Zahid Malik for taking forward his legacy.”

Both of them are my students and I feel proud of them for their commitment to Pakistan and uphold-ing the principles their father always stood by.

ILO Country Head, Mr Geir Tonstol in his brief remarks appreciated the NPC for organizing a lively event to mark the Independence Day. “This is my third Independence Day in Pakistan and I am deeply impressed by the resilience of the people of this wonderful country,” he said while extending heart-felt felicitations on the occasion of the 78th anniver-sary of the Independence Day.

He reaffirmed his faith in the immense talent of the youth of Pakistan, particularly the girls and advo-cated equal opportunities for them in all fields of life. “Building of a nation is a continuous process and the Pakistanis are evolving into a great nation,” he said.

Senior Vice Chairman of the NPC and Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of Pakistan Observer, Mr Faisal Zahid Malik also remembered his father and re-called his passion to promote the ideology of Paki-stan. My father’s words ‘Come, let’s think what we have done for Pakistan,’ have now become a prov-erb as he always remained restless to serve Pakistan, said Faisal Malik.

He was of the view said the recent unprecedented success of the Pakistan armed forces in military escalation with India was one of the three miracles of the present times. The other two being the crea-tion of Pakistan in 1947 and the nuclear explosions in May 1998, he explained.

Who could imagine that Pakistan could bring to knees a hostile neighbour that is many times bigger and highly-equipped in weapons, manpower and resources? He asked.

Faisal Zahid Malik was all praise for the military leadership of the country for registering an unprece-dented victory against India in a brief period of five or six days. It goes to the credit of the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan armed forces, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir that today Pakistan’s military prowess, economic resilience and its stance on Kashmir and the Water Treaty are being acknowl-edged by the entire world, he said.

MNA Mrs Farrukh Khan in her brief address paid rich tributes to late Mr Zahid Malik for founding the NPC which has become a platform for the young talented but less-privileged members of society to showcase their potential. She also felicitated the participants and the audience on the auspicious oc-casion of the Independence Day emphasizing the value of independence.

Pakistan has a clear policy of friendship to all and enmity towards none, however, whenever there is a threat to its territorial integrity and sovereignty the country’s armed forces with the support of the peo-ple give a befitting reply as we have witnessed in the recent Marka-e-Haq, she said.

At the end Chairman of the NPC, Mian Muhammad Javed admired the special children’s performance, their devotion and dedication for Pakistan as dis-played in tableau, speeches and patriotic songs.

He also praised the participating institutions—Network of Organizations Working for People With Disabilities Pakistan (NOWPDP), Bazeecha Wel-fare Foundation, Sunshine Gharana Foundation, Azeem Welfare Trust, Islah Public School, Babar Public School, Girls Guides, Islamabad Tea and others—for contributing in one way or the other to make possible a successful and memorable cerebra-tion of the Independence Day. He also recognized the role of his team particularly Executive Secretary of the NPC and President of Pakistan Observer, Mr Gauhar Zahid Malik for taking keen interest in or-ganizing such an impressive event on the eve of the Independence Day. It goes to his credit that different organizations working for the welfare of special persons and the less-privileged children have found a platform free of charge to showcase their chil-dren’s talent and their great work, he said. At the end prizes and certificates were distributed among the participating students and the organizations.

A detailed report along with pictures of the Independence Day and Marka-e-Haq victory celebrations and profiles of the participating organizations will be published in a couple of days.