2nd Lieutenant, sepoy martyred in NWA attack

MIRAMSHAH: Two soldiers, including an officer, were martyred when militants attacked a vehicle of the security forces in Dattakhel area in North Waziristan Agency on Tuesday.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) through a statement said that 2nd Lieutenant Abdul Moeed and Sepoy Basharat were martyred after terrorists fired on their vehicle from the surrounding mountains.

The sources said that the militants attacked the vehicle of the security forces with automatic weapons in Hamzani area on Dattakhel Road. The sources said the security forces enforced curfew and launched a search operation in the area soon after the incident. However, there were no reports about any arrest in the search operation. Sepoy Basharat, 21, was from Danyor village of Gilgit-Baltistan while 2nd Lt Abdul Moeed, also 21 years old, hailed from Burewala in Vehari, Punjab. Moeed was the eldest of four siblings.

Abdul Moeed had recently graduated from the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Kakul while Basharat had three years of military service, the ISPR statement added.

As the news of his death spread, 2nd Lt Abdul Moeed's friends started paying him tributes and putting his pictures in the social media. One of his friend noted that Moeed began his career in the Pakistan Army a couple of months ago and didn't get a chance to meet his family since putting on the ranks. On his first posting after being commissioned in the Army, he was sent to North Waziristan, once the most violent place in Pakistan but now generally stable as a result of military operation Zarb-e-Azb, launched against the militants on June 15, 2014.

Moeed's cousin posted a message on the Facebook that the deceased belonged to the 136 Long Course of the Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul and was a member of the 4 Northern Light Infantry unit.

Talking to Geo News, Moeed's mother said he has fulfilled all her expectations. She added that Moeed loved her and his siblings a lot.

There have been terrorist attacks in North Waziristan every month since September 2017 targeting the soldiers. These include cross-border attacks as well as targeted assaults.

Agencies add: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa lauded the sacrifices of martyrs to safeguard the country, according to a tweet of Director General ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor.

“Freedom isn’t free, it costs sons of the soil. Freedom that we enjoy today is owed to so many such brave hearts. Salute to our Martyrs,” the COAS said in the message after two soldiers embraced Shahadat in North Waziristan.

President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani and Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal strongly condemned terror attack in North Waziristan and said our security forces have secured the future of nation by rendering invaluable sacrifices.

In separate statements, they prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls. They offered heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and emphasised that the armed forces have rendered unmatched sacrifices in the war against terrorism. They said the nation will always remember the sacrifices of its martyrs and heroes.

They said Pakistan has defeated the monster of terrorism by breaking the backbone of terrorists' network across the country.

The Senate also strongly condemned terrorist attack and sympathised with the bereaved families.

Speaking in Senate, Chairman Raza Rabbani said Pakistani people are with their Army in elimination of terrorism from the country. He said such heinous acts of terrorism could not demoralise the firm resolve of the nation to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country.