interesting point you are raising!
since this WoT and its mil-ops are not considered 'war' officially, officers and jawans who make the 'ultimate sacrifice' are not entitled to the following gallantry awards.
NH
HJ
SJ
TJ
these awards are the preserve of the soldiers who fight an 'external' enemy.
for those who lay down their lives in conflicts, skirmishes and CI ops, the armed forces bestow the following of many gallantry awards.
HBt (?)
SBt
TBt
and others.
now there is something really wrong here - is there a 'difference' in the ultimate sacrifice made by our officers and jawans in a official ;war' and the current CI ops - arnt we fighting a 'enemy of the state'?
and if there is a difference between these sacrifices, then why would the CoAS state on the occasion of the 'Youm-Shuhada' celebrated on 30th April that "the armed forces of pakistan have made more than 15,000 sacrifices in defence of the motherland and on this day we will never forget them" - so it is clear from his statement that there is 'no difference' in the ultimate sacrifice made by our officers and jawans whether it is a declared war, conflict or CI ops.
then why make the distinction when awarding these gallantry awards - is there no case to award NH/HJ/SJ/TJ to the brave souls who have laid down their lives for our nation!!!
i posted this sometimes ago but unfortunately people were either ignoring it, or didnt see it, or dont care - i dont know but this whole awarding of gallantry awards, just dosnt sit well with me - a officer or jawan gives his life in defence of his motherland, and the powers to be actually can find 'distinctions' or 'differences' in the levels of sacrifice - sorry folks! i cannot digest this.
