Frontier Constabulary martyrs rise to 367 in war against terrorism

PESHAWAR: The recent martyrdom of four personnel of the Frontier Constabulary has raised to 367 the number of martyrs belonging to this force.

They offered the supreme sacrifice in the war against terrorism and embraced martyrdom. When contacted, Moazzam Jah Ansari, the commandant, Frontier Constabulary (FC), said the two latest incidents in which his men were martyred happened on November 5 and December 13.

On November 5, four FC jawans deployed at Luni post in the Darazinda area in Dera Ismail Khan were attacked by suspected militants when they were returning after patrolling. Naik Amjad and Lance Naik Saghir Ahmad, both belonging to Charsadda district, were martyred in the attack. A passerby was also martyred while two FC soldiers, Amir Zaman and Asif, were wounded.

In the second attack on December 13, two FC personnel from the Manjhi post located in the boundary area of Dera Ismail Khan and Tank were martyred when ambushed by suspected militants. They too were on patrolling duty. The martyred Sepoy Mohsin Khan hailed from Bannu and Sepoy Yasin Khan from Tirah in Khyber tribal district. It took FC men nearly eight hours to deliver his body to his remote village in the mountainous Tirah valley for burial. Like others, these martyrs were buried with full official honours.

The number of FC martyrs was 361 in February 2019 when the force after some gap organized a sports gala on a grand scale at its training centre in Shabqadar, Charsadda and published a magazine titled “Jazba” containing information about the FC’s martyrs and its history and achievements.

Among the martyrs was the highly decorated senior cop Safwat Ghayur, the commandant of FC, who lost his life on August 4, 2010 in a suicide bombing outside the headquarters of the force in Peshawar Saddar. Another FC commandant who died in the line of duty was E C Handyside, the British police officer who led the force from 1921-26. He was killed at the Kotal Pass linking Kohat with Darra Adamkhel by tribesmen. The Handyside Gate at the Kotal Pass is named after him.

Moazzam Jah Ansari, the FC commandant, said it was rare that two commandants of a force died with their boots on.

Other FC officers who embraced martyrdom included Amir Badshah, Karim Khan and Mir Ali Wazir, who had served as District Officer Frontier Constabulary (DOFC).

The FC suffered its biggest loss in a double suicide bombing outside the main gate of the Shabqadar Fort, built in 1837, on May 13, 2011. The suicide bombers struck on a day of recruitment at the fort, targetting the young men as they gathered at the gate to gain entry into the historic fort to appear in physical test. As many as 70 men were martyred in the attack.