Pakistan observed its 61st Defence and Martyrs' Day on September 6, with President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paying tribute to the soldiers who fought in the 1965 war against India and invoking last year's military confrontation — dubbed "Marka-i-Haq" — as proof that the same spirit endures. Celebrations opened with a 31-gun salute in Islamabad and 21-gun salutes in provincial capitals, while a change of guards was held at the mausoleum of Pakistan's founder in Karachi. In his message, PM Shehbaz highlighted Pakistan's expanding role beyond its borders, pointing to its membership in the Makkah Defence Alliance (a Saudi-led Islamic military coalition) as evidence of the country's emergence as what he called a "net security stabiliser" in the region.