Pakistan, May 12 -- The first anniversary of Marka-e-Haq was something else entirely. I will be honest with you. I did not expect to feel what I felt.

I have been around long enough to know the difference between a crowd that showed up and a crowd that meant it. I have seen the rallies where people are bused in, handed a flag, and told where to stand. I have seen the ceremonies where the speeches are long, and the audience is somewhere else in their heads. I know that drill. We all do.

This was not that.

What happened across Sindh on the first anniversary of Marka-e-Haq was one of the most genuine, most overwhelming, most moving public moments I have seen in this country in years. Maybe ever. People came out for their army. Not because...