'Illusion Of Victory': How Pakistan Military Is Bankrolling A Fake Narrative To Mask Operation Sindoor Defeat | Exclusive

Last Updated:May 07, 2026, 17:20 IST

The festival 'Ashra-e-Tashakur Fateh-E-Muneeb' (Ten Days of Gratitude for a Manifest Victory) involves both government entities and terror groups like LeT and JeM

As Pakistan marks the first anniversary of the 2025 military standoff with India, a disturbing pattern of state-sponsored celebration has emerged. Intelligence sources told CNN-News18 that Islamabad has sanctioned a ten-day nationwide festival, titled “Ashra-e-Tashakur Fateh-E-Muneeb" (Ten Days of Gratitude for a Manifest Victory), involving both government entities and banned terror organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

This “illusion of triumph", running from May 1 to 10, appears to be a desperate move by the Pakistani military establishment to mask the crushing tactical defeats suffered during India’s Operation Sindoor last year.

Funding A Fake Narrative

According to top intelligence inputs, the Pakistan military has released approximately 500 crore rupees in special funds to facilitate these celebrations. The mandate is clear: Federal and provincial governments, alongside religious and business groups, have been directed to organise rallies, seminars, and special sermons. The peak of this propaganda campaign is set for Friday, May 8, with main functions scheduled in Islamabad and Rawalpindi on May 9 and 10.

By involving banned outfits in these public festivities, Pakistan is openly flouting international counter-terrorism norms. Terror groups are using the “Ashra-e-Tashakur" period to boost plummeting morale and deflect from the fact that their infrastructure was decimated by Indian precision strikes.

Desperate Deflection From Operation Sindoor

The timing of these celebrations—concluding on May 10—is particularly telling. It was on May 10, 2025, that Pakistan officially requested a ceasefire after the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor. Triggered by the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 tourists, the Indian response involved precision strikes across nine Pakistani cities, including Muzaffarabad and Muridke.

Intelligence reports confirm that at least 55 individuals, including high-value terror assets, were killed in the Indian strikes. While Islamabad officially frames its retaliatory “Operation Bunyan-Ul-Marsoos" and “Marqa-e-Haq" as successes, the request for a ceasefire within days tells a different story of tactical exhaustion.

Political Endorsement And The PPP Role

The narrative of a “fake victory" has found support within Pakistan’s political mainstream. In Sindh, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) held a high-profile ceremony to commemorate Marka-e-Haq. Addressing the gathering, PPP Chairman and former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari hailed the anniversary, stating, “This victory was not the victory of weapons alone. It was a triumph of resolve, it was a triumph of unity, it was the triumph of people who refused to kneel."

Such rhetoric, coupled with the open participation of LeT and JeM cadres, underscores a dangerous convergence between the Pakistani state and non-state actors. As the anniversary concludes, the international community remains watchful of Islamabad’s continued use of terror proxies to sustain a manufactured domestic narrative of military prowess.

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