Honoring our Martyrs
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Shoaib_Sham
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I am good with what ever mean deems appropriate. How can we send our gratitude to his family via ISPR? Is there any standard procedure?
Inha lilla hey wha inha ale-hey rajaoon
My heart bleeds at this shocking and unneccessary loss, fighting Pakistanis (however misguided) on Pakistani soil. Maj Zia ul Haq, LTC Haroon ul Islam aspired to lay down their lives at Siachin or on the battlefields against external enemies; and what our leadership did to their spirit.
My heart bleeds at this shocking and unneccessary loss, fighting Pakistanis (however misguided) on Pakistani soil. Maj Zia ul Haq, LTC Haroon ul Islam aspired to lay down their lives at Siachin or on the battlefields against external enemies; and what our leadership did to their spirit.
Minhas
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Ok. I will check and inform you people...
Omar1984
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Lahore pays tribute to its martyrs
* Citizens lay bouquets at Traffic Police memorial on Liberty Roundabout
By Adnan Lodhi
LAHORE: The citys residents on Wednesday paid tribute to the policemen who sacrificed their lives for the Sri Lankan teams safety during the 25-minute shootout at Liberty Roundabout.
Those who sacrificed their lives for the teams security were Maddasir Nadeem, Zafar Iqbal, Faisal Butt, Tipu Fareed, Zafar Khan, Sultan and Tanveer Iqbal.
Memorial: City Traffic Police arranged a memorial to the bravery of the police officials at the Liberty Roundabout. Posters of late traffic warden Tanveer Iqbal were displayed, that said: Salute me, Salute Pakistan and Sri Lankas friendship.
A great rush of people was observed at the Liberty Roundabout, as citizens visited the crime scene in groups and placed floral bouquets to pay tribute to the deceased. Citizens condemned the terrorists and said they were proud of the city police. They pledged to fight terrorism with a united front. They demanded the government distribute Rs 10 million among the families of the police martyrs. Some students even prepared banners saying: The nation is proud of these brave policemen and they deserve Rs 1 billion.
Police officials, representatives of the civil society, students, teachers, and others gathered at the Liberty Market also offered fateha for the deceased.
Faheema, a traffic warden, said it was a tragedy that late Iqbal was not carrying a weapon to fight the terrorists. Dr Tasneem Haroon, a woman who had come to lay flowers in the memory of the deceased, said she came from London to pay tribute to the deceased policemen.
Hammad, a traffic warden on The Mall, said citizens were saluting the wardens due to the sacrifices made by their colleague. He said it was encouraging to see the citizens paying tribute to those who had sacrificed their lives for the countrys sake.
A heavy contingent of police had been deployed on the occasion to ensure a foolproof security system.
Citizens condemned police officials, who were situated in nearby localities, for showing negligence by not rushing to the crime scene. They said nearby police stations failed to provide help during the 25-minute shootout.
Shahid Butt, a citizen, said it was failure of nearby police personnel to reach the scene that had allowed the terrorists to escape. He said nearby police stations did not come for help and the Police Department should take action against them. He said the pilot squad also did not return to aid fellow policemen although they were aware of the situation.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
* Citizens lay bouquets at Traffic Police memorial on Liberty Roundabout
By Adnan Lodhi
LAHORE: The citys residents on Wednesday paid tribute to the policemen who sacrificed their lives for the Sri Lankan teams safety during the 25-minute shootout at Liberty Roundabout.
Those who sacrificed their lives for the teams security were Maddasir Nadeem, Zafar Iqbal, Faisal Butt, Tipu Fareed, Zafar Khan, Sultan and Tanveer Iqbal.
Memorial: City Traffic Police arranged a memorial to the bravery of the police officials at the Liberty Roundabout. Posters of late traffic warden Tanveer Iqbal were displayed, that said: Salute me, Salute Pakistan and Sri Lankas friendship.
A great rush of people was observed at the Liberty Roundabout, as citizens visited the crime scene in groups and placed floral bouquets to pay tribute to the deceased. Citizens condemned the terrorists and said they were proud of the city police. They pledged to fight terrorism with a united front. They demanded the government distribute Rs 10 million among the families of the police martyrs. Some students even prepared banners saying: The nation is proud of these brave policemen and they deserve Rs 1 billion.
Police officials, representatives of the civil society, students, teachers, and others gathered at the Liberty Market also offered fateha for the deceased.
Faheema, a traffic warden, said it was a tragedy that late Iqbal was not carrying a weapon to fight the terrorists. Dr Tasneem Haroon, a woman who had come to lay flowers in the memory of the deceased, said she came from London to pay tribute to the deceased policemen.
Hammad, a traffic warden on The Mall, said citizens were saluting the wardens due to the sacrifices made by their colleague. He said it was encouraging to see the citizens paying tribute to those who had sacrificed their lives for the countrys sake.
A heavy contingent of police had been deployed on the occasion to ensure a foolproof security system.
Citizens condemned police officials, who were situated in nearby localities, for showing negligence by not rushing to the crime scene. They said nearby police stations failed to provide help during the 25-minute shootout.
Shahid Butt, a citizen, said it was failure of nearby police personnel to reach the scene that had allowed the terrorists to escape. He said nearby police stations did not come for help and the Police Department should take action against them. He said the pilot squad also did not return to aid fellow policemen although they were aware of the situation.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
metalfalcon
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The whole Pakistani Nation honour our Brave "Elite Police Force" Policemen who sacrificed their Life to Give a Chance to the Bus Driver to Run For Escape and they Failed all the Ambitions of the terrorists.
Omar1984
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People pay tribute at Lahore’s Liberty chowk
Updated at: 1342 PST, Friday, March 06, 2009
LAHORE: Large number of people paying homage to deceased policemen monument at Liberty chowk for fourth consecutive day.
Talking to media, citizens said that the chowk should be named on martyred policemen to keep their memories alive.
People belonging to civil society also placed flowering bouquets and garlands at Liberty Chowk.
People pay tribute at Lahores Liberty chowk - GEO.tv
Updated at: 1342 PST, Friday, March 06, 2009
LAHORE: Large number of people paying homage to deceased policemen monument at Liberty chowk for fourth consecutive day.
Talking to media, citizens said that the chowk should be named on martyred policemen to keep their memories alive.
People belonging to civil society also placed flowering bouquets and garlands at Liberty Chowk.
People pay tribute at Lahores Liberty chowk - GEO.tv
who lost there lifes in the fight against terror and protect us and our beloved country.
metalfalcon
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The whole Pakistani Nation Honors our Fallen Soldiers who Sacrificed their Today for Our Tomorrow.
Xtremeownage
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May Allah accept these Martyrs in Jannah, Insha Allah!
fatman17
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Our Heroes needn't die Young or Unsung
Like any other young man of his age, Omar symbolizes hope and promise for the future. Under normal circumstances, he would have been spruce, clean shaven and nattily dressed in an army lieutenant's uniform. Presently he wears a drab shalwar kameez and a scraggily beard, which gives his handsome pale face an unnatural air of gravitas. Four months ago Omar was hit by a rocket while battling terrorists in Bajaur. He was given up for dead but for a faithful soldier of his platoon, who carried him to safety through a hail of bullets and rockets. Omar owes his life to prompt heliborne evacuation, first to Peshawar and then to Rawalpindi. Presently he is under intense medical treatment. He requires a lengthy period of rehabilitation and post trauma care.
Omar is making slow but steady recovery. Presently he is confined to bed and requires constant attention. Even small movements leave him drained and listless. Omar's devoted parents, retired Group Captain and Mrs Tirmizi spend most of their free time attending to their son. Tirmizi Sahib works for a government department and Mrs Tirmizi is a teacher. Both are justifiably proud of their son and are already looking beyond the ordeal. When I visited Omar in the officer's ward of CMH Rawalpindi, the father was giving him a rub down to relieve him of bed sores, while the mother was fussing over him.
Despite his precarious condition Omar craves for company and is happy to receive visitors. He needs little prompting to narrate his story and does so with amazing zest and vigour. For a moment he forgets his pain and relives each moment of his battle with the insurgents with the kind of animation and high spirits that would put many of us, who wear their sorrows on their sleeves to shame.
Last year, the dashing young Omar was deployed with his battalion to participate in the vicious counter insurgency campaign being waged in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Fearless to the point of being reckless, Omar was quick to build a reputation for courage and bravery by volunteering for all the difficult assignments that came his way. Trained to fight a conventional war, Omar and his troops learned at great peril to their life and limb that the insurgents did not play by the book. They neither followed the established rules of warfare nor adhered to the customary code of chivalrous soldierly behaviour. The guerrilla sharpshooters were shadowy figures, who would patiently lie in wait to ambush an army convoy labouring up the hill tracks, before disappearing in the labyrinthine warren of tunnels dug up in the wild and inaccessible countryside. To add to the general discomfiture of the soldier, the rules of engagement were ambiguous and orders or the lack of these, for the unexpected contingencies, were disturbing. There were just no means of distinguishing combatant from non-combatant and local from foreigner. Omar was quick to adjust to this new form of warfare and devised his own tactics to defeat the elusive enemy on his own turf.
As a professional soldier Omar is well grounded in minor tactics. His labour of love has been the Urdu translation of the 'Defence of Duffer's Drift,' the quintessential book read by generations of subalterns, eager to understand the basic nuances of laying out an ideal defensive position. After his first encounters with the rebels, Omar realized that he was not up against a motley crowd of ragtag guerrillas but a wily band of battle hardened and highly disciplined veterans. They were hardly ever visible and never presented a worthwhile target. The only time they ventured out of their safe havens was to retrieve the body of a fallen comrade and then too they were careful enough to choose a time, when they thought that the soldiers had their guards down. They were well equipped and had satellite telephones, telescope mounted sniper rifles, automatic weapons and the ubiquitous rocket launchers. Omar wondered, who provided them with all the sophisticated military hardware, particularly the anti tank rockets, one of which tore a neat hole through his body. Omar recounts that at times the rebels would fire as many as two hundred rockets in a day. The rocket attacks were not restricted to hard targets like tanks, vehicles or bunkers alone. Rockets were indiscriminately fired at any moving or stationary object, from which harm was expected. At times they would fire rockets from trees, defying the basic teaching that anti tank rockets should only be fired from a clearing to allow for the back blast.
Omar's experiences in Bajaur raises many disturbing questions: Who are the insurgents' sponsors? What are the sources of their funding? Who runs their logistics? Who is playing this diabolical game to destabilise our country? Who is behind the heavy toll being inflicted on our precious human and material resources? How are the rebels sustaining their nefarious activities? How can we counter and eliminate these forces of evil?
Lieutenant Omar Tirmizi of the FF regiment was lucky to have survived the rocket attack, Captain Omar Sarfraz of the NLI Regiment wasn't. He died in a rocket attack, while guarding a helipad in South Waziristan. Body armour and steel helmet can protect a soldier against bullet or shrapnel. No such protection is available against anti tank rockets.
The war in our insurgency hit areas is neither glamorous nor popular. Young heroes are dying unsung. Their exploits are neither preserved in glorious words by regimental historians nor civilian scribes. National media does not lionise them. A strange departure from wars fought in Kashmir and the erstwhile East Pakistan, where paeans of praise were sung in honour of the valiant warriors, who fought and died defending the faith and the homeland. Defence Day of Pakistan still commemorates the heroism and bravery of those who participated in the 1965 war. Most of the soldiers, who form the hardcore rank and file of our army today weren't even born four decades ago. Sadly there are no Remembrance Day ceremonies for those, who have laid down their lives fighting in FATA or Swat. Gallantry awards, even when these have been awarded are not proportionate to those distributed during wars of shorter durations and lesser casualties. There have been no recipients of high level awards like the Nishan-e-Haider or Hilal-i-Jura'at for bravery beyond the call of duty. Even the Low Intensity Conflict fought on the icy heights of Kargil had its own crop of recipients of NH and SJ's. This war, which in terms of longevity has run longer than all previous wars, is woefully short of its share of officially recognised heroes.
Those opposed to this counter insurgency campaign belittle the efforts of the soldiers, who sacrifice their lives to re-establish the writ of the government in these remote and restless areas. Certain misguided elements are even denying them the status of martyr in the cause of God and country. These very same people are seducing a segment of our youth to fight a religious war against the government troops. Those, who die fighting this ill advised 'crusade' against their own national army, are promised beautiful women in the afterlife. There is no way to confirm, if these star crossed boys earn their just deserts in heavens, constructed by their firebrand mentors. In any case each young life cut short in its prime is tantamount to national loss.
What is happening in FATA is a great travesty. The flower of our youth is withering before it is allowed to bloom. There is no denying the fact, that extraordinary times demand extraordinary sacrifices but there must be a method even in madness. At the highest level we must craft a long term strategy to come out of the current imbroglio. A national education policy should integrate all streams of imparting education, so that the products of religious seminaries do not take upon themselves to redesign the world according to their anachronistic point of view. At the military level we must retrain our troops to fight a no holds barred low level counter insurgency campaign. The soldiers must be provided the best possible protection against anti tank rockets and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's). Those who are injured or killed in this thankless battle should not fall victim to official antipathy and should be given due recognition for their sacrifice.
* The author is a retired Brigadier and is currently pursuing doctoral studies in the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
http://www.ispr.gov.pk/
Like any other young man of his age, Omar symbolizes hope and promise for the future. Under normal circumstances, he would have been spruce, clean shaven and nattily dressed in an army lieutenant's uniform. Presently he wears a drab shalwar kameez and a scraggily beard, which gives his handsome pale face an unnatural air of gravitas. Four months ago Omar was hit by a rocket while battling terrorists in Bajaur. He was given up for dead but for a faithful soldier of his platoon, who carried him to safety through a hail of bullets and rockets. Omar owes his life to prompt heliborne evacuation, first to Peshawar and then to Rawalpindi. Presently he is under intense medical treatment. He requires a lengthy period of rehabilitation and post trauma care.
Omar is making slow but steady recovery. Presently he is confined to bed and requires constant attention. Even small movements leave him drained and listless. Omar's devoted parents, retired Group Captain and Mrs Tirmizi spend most of their free time attending to their son. Tirmizi Sahib works for a government department and Mrs Tirmizi is a teacher. Both are justifiably proud of their son and are already looking beyond the ordeal. When I visited Omar in the officer's ward of CMH Rawalpindi, the father was giving him a rub down to relieve him of bed sores, while the mother was fussing over him.
Despite his precarious condition Omar craves for company and is happy to receive visitors. He needs little prompting to narrate his story and does so with amazing zest and vigour. For a moment he forgets his pain and relives each moment of his battle with the insurgents with the kind of animation and high spirits that would put many of us, who wear their sorrows on their sleeves to shame.
Last year, the dashing young Omar was deployed with his battalion to participate in the vicious counter insurgency campaign being waged in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Fearless to the point of being reckless, Omar was quick to build a reputation for courage and bravery by volunteering for all the difficult assignments that came his way. Trained to fight a conventional war, Omar and his troops learned at great peril to their life and limb that the insurgents did not play by the book. They neither followed the established rules of warfare nor adhered to the customary code of chivalrous soldierly behaviour. The guerrilla sharpshooters were shadowy figures, who would patiently lie in wait to ambush an army convoy labouring up the hill tracks, before disappearing in the labyrinthine warren of tunnels dug up in the wild and inaccessible countryside. To add to the general discomfiture of the soldier, the rules of engagement were ambiguous and orders or the lack of these, for the unexpected contingencies, were disturbing. There were just no means of distinguishing combatant from non-combatant and local from foreigner. Omar was quick to adjust to this new form of warfare and devised his own tactics to defeat the elusive enemy on his own turf.
As a professional soldier Omar is well grounded in minor tactics. His labour of love has been the Urdu translation of the 'Defence of Duffer's Drift,' the quintessential book read by generations of subalterns, eager to understand the basic nuances of laying out an ideal defensive position. After his first encounters with the rebels, Omar realized that he was not up against a motley crowd of ragtag guerrillas but a wily band of battle hardened and highly disciplined veterans. They were hardly ever visible and never presented a worthwhile target. The only time they ventured out of their safe havens was to retrieve the body of a fallen comrade and then too they were careful enough to choose a time, when they thought that the soldiers had their guards down. They were well equipped and had satellite telephones, telescope mounted sniper rifles, automatic weapons and the ubiquitous rocket launchers. Omar wondered, who provided them with all the sophisticated military hardware, particularly the anti tank rockets, one of which tore a neat hole through his body. Omar recounts that at times the rebels would fire as many as two hundred rockets in a day. The rocket attacks were not restricted to hard targets like tanks, vehicles or bunkers alone. Rockets were indiscriminately fired at any moving or stationary object, from which harm was expected. At times they would fire rockets from trees, defying the basic teaching that anti tank rockets should only be fired from a clearing to allow for the back blast.
Omar's experiences in Bajaur raises many disturbing questions: Who are the insurgents' sponsors? What are the sources of their funding? Who runs their logistics? Who is playing this diabolical game to destabilise our country? Who is behind the heavy toll being inflicted on our precious human and material resources? How are the rebels sustaining their nefarious activities? How can we counter and eliminate these forces of evil?
Lieutenant Omar Tirmizi of the FF regiment was lucky to have survived the rocket attack, Captain Omar Sarfraz of the NLI Regiment wasn't. He died in a rocket attack, while guarding a helipad in South Waziristan. Body armour and steel helmet can protect a soldier against bullet or shrapnel. No such protection is available against anti tank rockets.
The war in our insurgency hit areas is neither glamorous nor popular. Young heroes are dying unsung. Their exploits are neither preserved in glorious words by regimental historians nor civilian scribes. National media does not lionise them. A strange departure from wars fought in Kashmir and the erstwhile East Pakistan, where paeans of praise were sung in honour of the valiant warriors, who fought and died defending the faith and the homeland. Defence Day of Pakistan still commemorates the heroism and bravery of those who participated in the 1965 war. Most of the soldiers, who form the hardcore rank and file of our army today weren't even born four decades ago. Sadly there are no Remembrance Day ceremonies for those, who have laid down their lives fighting in FATA or Swat. Gallantry awards, even when these have been awarded are not proportionate to those distributed during wars of shorter durations and lesser casualties. There have been no recipients of high level awards like the Nishan-e-Haider or Hilal-i-Jura'at for bravery beyond the call of duty. Even the Low Intensity Conflict fought on the icy heights of Kargil had its own crop of recipients of NH and SJ's. This war, which in terms of longevity has run longer than all previous wars, is woefully short of its share of officially recognised heroes.
Those opposed to this counter insurgency campaign belittle the efforts of the soldiers, who sacrifice their lives to re-establish the writ of the government in these remote and restless areas. Certain misguided elements are even denying them the status of martyr in the cause of God and country. These very same people are seducing a segment of our youth to fight a religious war against the government troops. Those, who die fighting this ill advised 'crusade' against their own national army, are promised beautiful women in the afterlife. There is no way to confirm, if these star crossed boys earn their just deserts in heavens, constructed by their firebrand mentors. In any case each young life cut short in its prime is tantamount to national loss.
What is happening in FATA is a great travesty. The flower of our youth is withering before it is allowed to bloom. There is no denying the fact, that extraordinary times demand extraordinary sacrifices but there must be a method even in madness. At the highest level we must craft a long term strategy to come out of the current imbroglio. A national education policy should integrate all streams of imparting education, so that the products of religious seminaries do not take upon themselves to redesign the world according to their anachronistic point of view. At the military level we must retrain our troops to fight a no holds barred low level counter insurgency campaign. The soldiers must be provided the best possible protection against anti tank rockets and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's). Those who are injured or killed in this thankless battle should not fall victim to official antipathy and should be given due recognition for their sacrifice.
* The author is a retired Brigadier and is currently pursuing doctoral studies in the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
http://www.ispr.gov.pk/
fatman17
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we read a lot in the western media about brave young officers and soldiers from the US,UK and other countries laying down their lives for the "cause" they believe in, but unfortunately our media has not made any effort to inform the local public about acts of "heroism" displayed by the brave officers and jawans of the PA, FC, PAF. it is most shameful to say the least!
JK!
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A humbling article Fatman not a day goes by without some mention of the experiences British troops are facing in Helmand province or the difficulties of the wounded.
It is absolutely shameful some praise the likes of those who wounded Lieutenant Omar Tirmizi, his comrades and other Officers of the Pakistan armed forces in this war for Pakistan.
I call it the war for Pakistan because IMHO this has gone beyond the goals of the US WoT and Pakistan is fighting for its own survival.
It is absolutely shameful some praise the likes of those who wounded Lieutenant Omar Tirmizi, his comrades and other Officers of the Pakistan armed forces in this war for Pakistan.
I call it the war for Pakistan because IMHO this has gone beyond the goals of the US WoT and Pakistan is fighting for its own survival.
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