From Stone Arrows to Bunyanun Marsoos -

by Muhammad Mohsin Iqbal
From the earliest dawn of human society, conflict has been an inescapable feature of collective life. Long before states, borders, or written laws, human groups clashed over territory, water, food, and survival. Even these primitive confrontations were not entirely spontaneous; they involved anticipation, planning, and strategy. Yet planning carried a fatal vulnerability. When intentions were revealed—through betrayal, careless speech, or interception—the advantage vanished. To overcome this, secrecy gradually became a cardinal principle of warfare, and plans began to be concealed under symbols, signals, and later, carefully chosen names. Thus emerged the earliest roots of what would much later be known as military code names.
Archaeological evidence confirms that organized violence predates civilization itself. The prehistoric cemetery at Jebel Sahaba along the Nile, dating back nearly fourteen thousand years, stands as the oldest known testimony to sustained warfare. The skeletons of men, women, and children bear stone arrowheads embedded in bone, some wounds healed, others fatal, indicating not a single massacre but repeated raids over time. Environmental stress and dwindling resources appear to have driven these conflicts, demonstrating that even nomadic hunter-gatherers could engage in prolonged, organized violence when survival was threatened. Similar traces of early warfare appear at sites such as Nataruk in Kenya and in rock art from Mesolithic Europe and Australia, reinforcing the conclusion that war is not merely a by-product of settled life, but a recurring human response to scarcity and fear.
With the advent of writing, warfare entered history in a new and more structured form. In ancient Mesopotamia, early Sumerian records describe conflicts between city-states and neighbouring regions such as Elam. The war between Lagash and Umma around 2450 BC, immortalized on the Stele of the Vultures, reveals organized infantry formations, command hierarchies, territorial conquest, and psychological warfare. Violence was no longer episodic; it became an instrument of state policy. A further leap occurred with Egypt’s account of the Battle of Megiddo in 1457 BC, the first conflict described in tactical detail, complete with routes of advance, weaponry, casualty figures, and siege operations. War had become systematic, documented, and consciously commemorated.
As warfare expanded in scale and complexity, the need for secrecy intensified. While ancient armies often named campaigns after places or rulers, the systematic use of operational code names emerged in the early twentieth century, driven by the dangers of intercepted communications. During the First World War, German offensives such as Operation Michael and Georgette used neutral names to conceal intent and sequence large-scale attacks. The Second World War elevated this practice into a sophisticated art. Operations such as Overlord, Barbarossa, Torch, Husky, and Bodyguard demonstrate how code names served not only secrecy but also deception, deliberately misleading adversaries about timing, location, and objectives. Names were chosen precisely because they revealed nothing, or occasionally because they suggested something false.
In the post-war and Cold War eras, code names became increasingly standardized, aided by formal naming systems to avoid duplication and confusion. At the same time, especially in the United States, names began to serve broader political and psychological purposes. Operations such as Just Cause, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom illustrate how code names evolved into instruments of morale-building and public persuasion. Warfare was now fought simultaneously on the battlefield and in the realm of narrative, where language shaped legitimacy, consent, and historical memory.
Pakistan’s military experience since independence reflects this global evolution in condensed form. Born in conflict in 1947, the country’s early operations were shaped by conventional warfare against India, particularly over Kashmir. Operation Gulmarg, followed by Gibraltar and Grand Slam in 1965, reflected an era of traditional military planning and territorial ambition. The tragedy of 1971, marked by Operation Searchlight, profoundly altered Pakistan’s strategic outlook. Thereafter, military involvement increasingly shifted toward internal stability, political intervention, and urban security, as seen in Operation Fair Play and later security operations in Karachi.
The post-9/11 era marked another decisive transformation. Pakistan found itself confronting asymmetric warfare, militancy, and terrorism across its western regions. Operations such as Al-Mizan, Rah-e-Rast, Rah-e-Nijat, Zarb-e-Azb, and Radd-ul-Fasad signified a doctrinal shift from conventional battles to intelligence-led, population-centric counter-insurgency. These operations carried names rich in symbolic meaning, invoking righteousness, deliverance, and reform, reflecting an effort to align military action with moral purpose and national resolve.
Closely aligned in spirit and purpose, Operation Markah-e-Haq further reinforces this trajectory. The very phrase, meaning “the battle for truth,” reflects not merely a tactical undertaking but a moral assertion. It underscores the continuing evolution of Pakistan’s security doctrine, wherein military operations are framed not only as responses to threats but as commitments to justice, stability, and national integrity.
Within this continuum, Operation Bunyanun Marsoos represents a mature expression of Pakistan’s contemporary security doctrine. Derived from a Quranic phrase meaning “a solid, unbreakable wall,” the name itself conveys unity, discipline, and collective strength. The operation embodied an integrated approach, emphasizing coordination among the armed forces, intelligence agencies, and civilian institutions. It signified a move beyond fragmented responses toward sustained, intelligence-based action against evolving threats. In choosing such a name, Pakistan demonstrated how modern military nomenclature blends operational security with cultural resonance, morale, and strategic messaging.
Across history, from prehistoric raids over dwindling resources to modern campaigns framed by carefully chosen names, warfare has continually adapted to human circumstances. Code names, once simple shields against espionage, have become multifaceted instruments—protecting secrets, enabling deception, coordinating vast forces, and shaping public understanding. Pakistan’s experience, spanning conventional wars, internal conflicts, and counter-terrorism campaigns, mirrors this broader human story.
Ultimately, while weapons, technologies, and terminologies change, the underlying impulses of war remain constant. Fear, ambition, insecurity, and power continue to drive conflict, while secrecy remains its trusted companion. Code names, whether carved into ancient stone, whispered over wartime radios, or announced in modern briefings, are more than labels. They are linguistic fortifications, concealing intent, unifying action, and shaping how wars are justified, remembered, and judged long after the echoes of battle have faded.