ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is going to celebrate the 59th Defence and Martyrs Day with fervent patriotism on Friday. The aim of the Defence Day of Pakistan is to highlight the valor and resilience of the Armed Forces of Pakistan during 1965 Indo-Pak war. This day reminds the citizens of Pakistan that the country’s military is committed to national freedom, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
From Captain Raja Muhammad Sarwar Shaheed to Havaldar Lalak Jan Shaheed
The legacy of unmatched gallantry and sacrifices of Pakistan’s Army Officers and Jawans started with the martyrdom of Captain Raja Muhammad Sarwar Shaheed (Nishan-e-Haider) in 1948 Kashmir War, was carried forward by Major Aziz Bhatti Shaheed (Nishan-e-Haider) in 1965 war, Maj Shabbir Sharif Shaheed (Nishan-e-Haider) in 1971 War and Captian Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed (Nishan-e-Haider) and Havaldar Lalak Jan Shaheed (Nishan-e-Haider) during the Kargil war in 1999.
Captain Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed
Captain Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed (Nishan-e-Haider) was one of those celebrated officers of the Pakistan Army whose unconquerable courage and heroic battleground performance during Kargil war has been highly praised by the enemy Army.
Former military officer Brigadier Mehmood Shah said that death was meaningless for Captain Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed (Nishan-e-Haider) who fought like a lion against both enemy forces and harsh weather on an altitude of 17,000 feet on Line of Control (LoC) at Gultary sector at Tiger Hills near Kargil and inflicted heavy human as well as material losses to the enemy forces.
He added that on July 5, 1999, Indians troops with the support of two battalions, attacked these posts at Tiger Hills and managed to capture some portion of one of his posts. Despite facing all odds, Captain Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed led a counterattack and recaptured the lost portion.
Lion of Kargil
He said that true to his name, Captain Sher Khan chased Indian troops and conducted many successful attacks in the enemy area. During one such attack, he went inside the enemy camp where he inflicted heavy losses to them, he added.
During the fierce fight, the lion of Kargil received a burst of machine gun fire in the chest and embraced Shahadat on July 5, 1999. His epic acts in the battlefield true to his name earned him the title of “Lion of Kargil”.
The courageous feat of Captain Sher Khan by completing the assigned mission of forcing the enemy to withdraw left the Indian commander Brig M.P.S Bajwa out rightly impressed by his unconquerable courage and splendid battleground performance and wrote a letter, requesting Pakistan that Captain Sher Khan Shaheed had fought valiantly and deserved the highest recognition.
Later, Captain Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed (1970-1999) and Havaldar Lalak Jan Shaheed (1967-1999) of the 12th NLI Regiment were decorated with the prestigious Nishan-e-Haider, the highest military gallantry award of Pakistan posthumously.
Brig Mehmood Shah said that the shooting down of two Indian warplanes inside LOC one fell in Azad Kashmir and the other in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) besides the capturing of an Indian Pilot on February 27, 2019, had proved the highest professionalism, outstanding fighting skills and courage of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). He was of the view that the unity exhibited by the nation following the Indian air strike on Balakot on February 27, 2019, was almost the same as that of the 1965 War.
He said the February 27 successful action of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has clearly testified that Pakistan’s armed forces were fully capable of giving a befitting reply to the enemy in case of any misadventure by it. The veteran officer of Pakistan Army said that Pakistan had been created after a lot of sacrifices by our forefathers under the dynamic leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, saying that “we all need to work hard in our respective areas to make it one of the greatest countries of the world”.
