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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan TV Digital has released a special documentary, &ldquo;Pakistan Equal Among Powers,&rdquo; to mark Youm-e-Takbir, commemorating Pakistan&rsquo;s nuclear tests conducted on May 28, 1998. Youm-e-Takbir is observed as a national day in Pakistan in remembrance of the Chagai-I and Chagai-II nuclear tests, which made Pakistan the seventh nuclear-armed state in the world and the first in the Muslim world to acquire nuclear weapons capability. The documentary brings together accounts from key figures associated with the 1998 tests, including former Information Minister Mushahid Hussain, former Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmad Khan, nuclear scientist Dr. Samar Mubarakmand, academic Lawrence Freedman and author Feroz Hassan Khan.&nbsp; Through interviews and archival footage, it traces the events leading to Pakistan&rsquo;s decision to conduct the tests despite international pressure and the prospect of economic sanctions. Recalling the period before the tests, Mushahid Hussain said Pakistan faced intense diplomatic pressure, including &ldquo;five calls from President Clinton, three calls from Tony Blair,&rdquo; urging Islamabad not to respond to India&rsquo;s nuclear tests. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, in archival remarks featured in the documentary, said world leaders repeatedly urged Pakistan not to conduct nuclear tests.&nbsp; &ldquo;India has done it, but you should not,&rdquo; he recalled being told. The film also revisits the operation at Chagai through the testimony of Dr Samar Mubarakmand, who led the nuclear test team.&nbsp; Describing the moment of detonation, he said the team chose to say &ldquo;Allah-o-Akbar and press the button&rdquo; instead of a conventional countdown. In its concluding message, the documentary argues that Pakistan&rsquo;s nuclear capability fundamentally altered its strategic position.&nbsp; &ldquo;The bomb did not make Pakistan wealthy. It did not make Pakistan safe from every threat. It made Pakistan addressable in the first language. It made Pakistan equal among powers.&rdquo; The documentary was released as Pakistan marked the 28th anniversary of Youm-e-Takbir, a milestone widely regarded in the country as a defining moment in its national security history.

Security

Pakistan TV Digital has released 'Equal Among Powers,' a special Youm-e-Takbir documentary featuring key policymakers, diplomats and scientists, revisiting Pakistan’s 1998 nuclear tests and their impact on the country's strategic standing.

‘Equal Among Powers’ revisits Pakistan’s historic nuclear decision

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan TV Digital, a project of Pakistan Television Network, on Sunday released Four Nights: When Pakistan Roared, a documentary chronicling untold stories, eyewitness accounts and behind-the-scenes moments from the four-day military confrontation between Pakistan and India in May 2025. Released on the first anniversary of Marka-e-Haq, the documentary reconstructs the dramatic events that unfolded between May 6 and May 10 last year, when tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours escalated into one of the most serious military confrontations in recent years. The film traces the chain of events from the April 22, 2025 attack in Pahalgam, in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which left more than two dozen tourists dead and sharply escalated tensions, to India&rsquo;s subsequent strikes inside Pakistan and Islamabad&rsquo;s military response under Operation Bunyan Um Marsoos. Blending frontline accounts, journalist testimonies, military analysis and archival footage, the documentary offers a detailed reconstruction of the conflict, capturing both its strategic dimensions and its human cost. Featuring journalists, defense analysts, diplomats and eyewitnesses, the film revisits the fear, uncertainty and intensity of four nights that pushed South Asia to the brink of a wider conflict. &ldquo;I exactly remember that moment. I cannot forget that moment for the rest of my life,&rdquo; senior television anchor Waseem Badami says in the documentary, recalling the first strikes and the shock that followed. Journalist Meher Bokhari describes the emotional toll of the initial attacks. &ldquo;Innocent civilians being targeted. Children being hit. So, one was aghast,&rdquo; she says. The documentary captures how Pakistan&rsquo;s media, military and civilian institutions responded in real time as the crisis unfolded, including round-the-clock news coverage and efforts to counter competing narratives. Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar recalls the pressure of the moment. &ldquo;We were awake for almost 72 hours. We hadn&rsquo;t slept and we were on the go trying to give our point of view and also to combat and counter false narratives,&rdquo; Tarar says in the film. Journalist Muneeb Farooq reflects on the uncertainty that dominated those early hours. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re Pakistani at the end of the day. You feel alarmed, but there&rsquo;s also anger inside you,&rdquo; he says. The documentary identifies the aerial battle as the turning point in the conflict, when Pakistan says it downed multiple Indian fighter aircraft, including Rafale jets, significantly shifting the strategic momentum. Veteran journalist Talat Hussain recalls the military&rsquo;s posture at the time. &ldquo;For one missile, there will be ten coming from our side,&rdquo; Hussain says, recounting the message conveyed during military briefings. Badami describes the moment confirmation came that Indian aircraft had been brought down. &ldquo;Goosebumps. Oh my God. And you cannot break it right now,&rdquo; he recalls. &ldquo;And then that moment came when I was told: &lsquo;Okay, break it. Tell the world that Pakistan has done it.&rsquo;&rdquo; Beyond the battlefield, the documentary examines the parallel information war that unfolded during the conflict, highlighting competing narratives, media coverage and digital disinformation. Former US ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, who appears in the documentary, says Pakistan&rsquo;s strategic communications during the crisis appeared more coherent. &ldquo;I was impressed, I&rsquo;d have to say, that the PR element of the war, the Pakistanis did a much better job,&rdquo; Munter says in an interview recorded from Prague. The film also captures the national mood as reports emerged of Pakistan&rsquo;s claimed aerial successes. &ldquo;The feeling itself was fantastic,&rdquo; Tarar says. &ldquo;It was beyond words.&rdquo; The documentary revisits the evolution of the conflict, from India&rsquo;s initial strikes to drone incursions, missile exchanges and the eventual ceasefire that brought an end to four days of fighting. It also examines how the confrontation reshaped regional perceptions of military capability, deterrence and strategic balance. Defence analyst Ali Hamza describes the aerial engagement as a defining moment in modern warfare. &ldquo;It was a system fighting another system. It was one of the episodes of modern air combat,&rdquo; he says. Beyond strategy and statecraft, the documentary highlights the human cost of war, including civilian casualties, displacement and fear among border communities. A civilian witness from Azad Jammu and Kashmir recalls the moment explosions shook homes in the dead of night. &ldquo;The whole house shook. Everyone was scared. Then we took the kids and left,&rdquo; the witness says. Speaking at the documentary&rsquo;s launch at PTV Headquarters in Islamabad, Pakistan TV Digital Editor-in-Chief Saqib Tanveer said the project aimed to preserve firsthand accounts of a conflict that left a lasting mark on the region. &ldquo;The documentary aims to provide a historical record of the crisis through the voices of those who witnessed it firsthand,&rdquo; Tanveer said. &ldquo;From newsrooms and diplomatic circles to affected communities and strategic observers, these voices help document history as it was lived.&rdquo; The release coincides with nationwide commemorations marking the first anniversary of Marka-e-Haq, with official ceremonies held across Pakistan and at diplomatic missions abroad to honour the armed forces and those who lost their lives during the conflict. For viewers, Four Nights: When Pakistan Roared offers both a reconstruction of a critical moment in South Asia&rsquo;s recent history and a deeply personal account of how war is experienced, reported and remembered. The documentary premiered on Pakistan TV Digital&rsquo;s official digital platforms at 4pm on May 10.

Released on the first anniversary of Marka-e-Haq, 'Four Nights: When Pakistan Roared' reconstructs the dramatic events that unfolded between May 6 and May 10 last year, when tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors escalated into one of the most serious military confrontations in recent years.

Articles tagged with "Pakistan TV Digital"

‘Equal Among Powers’ revisits Pakistan’s historic nuclear decision

Pakistan TV Digital releases documentary revisiting four nights of Pakistan-India conflict

‘Equal Among Powers’ revisits Pakistan’s historic nuclear decision