KARACHI: Pakistan’s largest flag manufacturer, VIP Flags, is expecting around 50 percent growth in sales this year as the public marks the country’s 78th Independence Day with unusual zeal, fueled by celebrations of victory in the May 2025 conflict with India.

The two nuclear-armed neighbors, which have fought three major wars since 1947, engaged in their deadliest fighting in decades this May. The fighting ended on May 10 after US mediation, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government declaring victory and saying it had downed at least six Indian fighter jets.

Officials have since linked the conflict’s outcome to the heightened national fervor surrounding August 14 this year, reflected in booming flag markets and sales of other Independence Day paraphernalia.

“Our business, all the businesses have grown 50 percent,” said VIP Flags CEO Nisar Ahmed Sheikh, adding that much of his stock had been sold to marchers rallying in support of Pakistan’s armed forces during the war with India.

VIP Flags manufactures flags for domestic customers, the armed forces, and international buyers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and holds Guinness World Records for the largest flags made in 2004 and 2008.

Sheikh said sales this year would likely run into millions of units.

“Obviously when people were filled with passion [after the war with India] and started hoisting flags, the flags business saw an uptick and increased compared to last year,” he told Arab News. 

“It is still growing and people are putting flags on their cars, bicycles and motorcycles.”

Sheikh said the surge in sales extended well beyond flags, with market vendors incorporating Independence Day themes into a wide range of products — from shirts, mufflers and headbands to shawls, dresses and children’s clothing — creating a vibrant festive atmosphere.

“People must be spending billions of rupees on this (celebrations) and this spending boosts the economy,” the CEO said. 

In Pakistan’s commercial hub of Karachi ahead of Aug. 14, large and small flags adorned vehicles, houses and office buildings, alongside buntings and night-time illuminations. Meanwhile, federal and provincial governments are holding daily events, with top officials like the prime minister and army chief expected to attend ceremonies in Islamabad on Aug. 13 and 14.

“The last time we saw such a show of national zeal on Independence Day was in Zia’s time,” Sheikh said, referring to former military ruler Zia-ul-Haq. “We see people decorating their houses, vehicles and vicinities with flags and buntings and badges.”

Abdul Wahab, a finisher at one of Sheikh’s factories, said he expected at least a 25 percent income increase this season. 

“We are seeing a rush in the market because of this war we recently fought with India,” said the 26-year-old, who plans to work overtime to meet demand.

For lawyer Bad-e-Saba, the occasion was a chance to pass on a message to the next generation.

“The war we recently won against Hindustan is a matter of great pride for us. We want to convey it to our children so they could know where we are standing against our enemy,” she said.

“We want to tell our enemies that we can take good care of our country and our next generation will do it better.”

KHAR, Pakistan: A mortar struck a home and killed two children and their mother in a northwestern Pakistani region where security forces are carrying out a “targeted operation ” against the Pakistani Taliban, residents and a hospital official said Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the overnight civilian casualties in Mamund, a town in the Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.

Naseeb Gul, a medical doctor at a local hospital, said the dead were two children and their mother. Two people were also wounded Tuesday when another mortar hit their home, he said.

Angered by the deaths, hundreds of demonstrators were refusing to bury the bodies and demanding an investigation, according to local villager Mohammad Khalid.

There was no immediate comment from the government or the military.

The latest development came days after security forces launched an offensive in Bajaur to target militant hideouts. The provincial government said the “targeted operation” was launched after tribal elders failed to evict insurgents from the region.

Government officials said the ongoing offensive against the Pakistani Taliban has displaced 25,000 families or an estimated 100,000 people in Bajaur, where authorities eased a curfew on Wednesday, allowing residents to buy essential items.

Thousands of displaced people are currently residing in government buildings, and many other have gone to other safer areas to live with relatives.

The Bajaur offensive is the second operation there since 2009, when the military launched a large-scale campaign against the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The TTP is a separate but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover and have been living there openly. Some have crossed the border back into Bajaur to carry out attacks.