We have plenty of them
I dedicate this column to the heroes of Pakistan, the strong men of our nation for whom Malika-e-Tarranum sang, “Aye watan kay sajeelay jawano, mairay naghmay tumharay liye hain” with all love and passion, those who live no more and to those who continue to live and put their lives at stake so people like you and me can live normal, day-to-day lives. This column is also dedicated to my brave soldiers conducting Zarb-e-Azb trying to return us Jinnah’s Pakistan. Godspeed! Above all, this column is dedicated to people like Sattar Edhi and his lady Bilquees Edhi who have dedicated their entire lives to bringing ease to the lives of millions of Pakistanis. This article is dedicated to all the unsung heroes of Pakistan. Salute!
Owing to limitation of space, many names may not find a mention but I would like to start with my dear friend Group Captain Ali Kazim, (Tamgha-e-Basalat) who is so dear to my heart. He joined PAF Academy, Risalpur, in 1957. He shared a recount of the fateful day of 6th September, 1965. “On the afternoon of 6th September, preemptive strikes were ordered as planned earlier. Here, I must mention that the Indian Army had launched a massive attack, backed by armoury to capture Lahore and have a drink in the evening at Punjab Club/Lahore Gymkhana. It was well past the time that the aircraft should have taken off to strike Halwara, I was told that I was required for briefing by Squadron Leader Rafiqui for Halwara strike. Rafiqui sahib was briefing sitting on the ground. Hardly a few minutes had passed when Flight Lieutenant Yunus Hussain walked in. He had just come back from a mission from Lahore. Rafiqui sahib asked me, ‘Kazim, if you don’t mind, let me take Yunus, he is my Flight Commander and you follow in the second wave.”
“So I got up and went for briefing of the second wave of four that was to be led by Squadron Leader Moin-ur-Rab (later Air Vice Marshal). We were briefed and were to fly the aircraft that had been brought that morning from Mauripur. In the meantime, some of the senior colleagues had approached the Base Commander, (late) Air Commodore ‘Mitty’ Masud, HJ, to call off this mission as it was too late and Halwara would be up in the air with all their aircrafts. It will be pertinent to mention here that on this day, 6th September at around 1400 hrs, we had sent a 104 to Halwara to check out the activity there and that would have warned them that something was up. Additionally, other IAF Bases had already been struck; therefore, there was no doubt that Halwara was ready to face a strike by PAF and would not be taken by surprise like other bases.
“Regarding calling off the mission, to the best of my knowledge, Base Commander had agreed and called Air Headquarters to permit cancellation of mission by them. Certainly not the Air Chief, I am sure. Rafiqui, the lion hearted, began his take off roll and during the take off one formation member had a technical failure and was forced to abort take off. That left three: Squadron Leader Rafiqui (leader), Flight Lieutenant Cecil (No 2) and Flight Lieutenant Yunus Hussain (No 3). When this formation was heading for Halwara, Squadron Leader M M Alam was returning from a mission and he called up on the radio and asked Rafiqui sahib not to proceed as he had spotted a large number of Indian fighter aircrafts in the vicinity of Halwara. But Rafiqui and his colleagues had already signed and delivered a cheque in the name of their nation where the amount column had said “Up to and including my life”. Rafiqui, lovingly called RAF by his mates, carried on, knowing full well what the expected outcome was. In the air combat of three versus innumerable, Yunus was shot down, Rafiqui shot down two before his guns jammed and he handed over the lead to Cecil who shot down three and overwhelmed, disengaged and used all the skill at his command to evade the pursuing IAF fighters and landed at Sargodha with the sun setting on a day which we, the colleagues of Shaheed Squadron Leader Sarfraz Rafiqui, HJ, Shaheed Flight Lieutenant Yunus Hussain, SJ, and Group Captain Cecil Chaudhry, SJ S Bt, (RIP) will never ever forget.”
Who can forget M M Alam, the veteran of 1965 and 1971 wars, awarded Sitara-e-Jurat for rewriting the history of valiant warfare by shooting down five Indian Hawker Hunter fighters in air combat in a record under-60 seconds.
Who can forget Major General Tajammal Hussain Malik, who with his men defended with pouch ammunition and repulsed the main Indian offensive on Lahore, along the G T Road, on 6th September, 1965, at Batapur Bridge, on the BRB Canal, Wagha Sector? General Tajammal Hussain Malik, in 1965, then a Lt Colonel, was CO (Commanding Officer) of Third Baloch. The battalion marched on foot to Batapur, from Lahore. He ordered recoilless rifle fire on the oncoming Indian tanks, blowing them up and thus halting the Indian onslaught — all with pouch ammunition, thus mocking the Indian Commander General Chaudhry’s claim to have “chautha peg” in Lahore Gymkhana before the day was over.
Brigadier Muhammad Ajmal (retd) who was not very long ago Commanding Officer of 3rd Baloch, has this to say, “Credit goes to the Pakistan Army who not only repulsed the Indian attack but successfully defended Lahore. The entire nation in general and Lahorites in particular backed their Armed Forces against this naked aggression of Indians. Today when our third generation celebrates the “Defence of Pakistan Day” while visiting Wahga border, they notice the existence of war monuments along BRB (Bambanwala-Ravi-Bedian) Link Canal and Grand Trunk Road and obliviously get curious about their history and background. One of these war monuments is located right in the middle of dual carriage GT Road on home side of BRB. While driving along Lahore Canal where it crosses the GT Road near Jallo Park and turns right towards Wagha where every evening the flag lowering ceremony is witnessed by thousands of people from both sides of the border. This monument was built in the memory of those 39 brave soldiers of Third Baloch Regiment (Shwebos) of Pakistan Army who laid their lives while defending Lahore and denied Indians crossing over BRB Canal.”
Today, the face of war has changed. We no longer engage in hand-to-hand combat with another nation. Today, we fight wars within our borders: homegrown terrorism, foreign terrorism, terrorism promoted by foreign agencies and those they sponsor. You name it, we have it. The war our soldiers fight today is no longer defined by distinguishable lines and external borders. They fight a war where waters are murky; one often does not know who is a friend and who is an enemy.
Like our soldiers, we have people like Sattar Edhi who have dedicated a lifetime to alleviating problems facing the common man. Before he set up Edhi Trust, he had set up a free dispensary with support of his community. Edhi Trust has bloomed to become the largest charity organisation in Pakistan and the most trusted one. According to BBC News, “Edhi Foundation runs the world’s largest ambulance service and operates free nursing homes, orphanages, clinics, women’s shelters, and rehab centres for drug addicts and mentally ill individuals.” (March 15, 2001) That is not all, recipient of many awards, according to a report of a local daily, “It has run relief operations in Africa, Middle East, the Caucasus region, eastern Europe and US where it provided aid following the New Orleans hurricane of 2005.” (November 28, 2011)
One such unsung hero is Ali Rehman, a banker by profession in Karachi who invests his extra time in projects that reach out to help people in need. These include contributions of 100 packets for ‘Teach 500’ drive for children in IDP Camps in Bannu, the Christmas Toy Drive with beautifully wrapped red and gold packages for the poorer children. Started in 2013, this sharing of love has become a regular, yearly feature with the distribution of free food bags and hampers amongst the needy in Ramazan, to people carefully screened, as quantities given out with the support of increasing number of people are huge before Eid. I can recount innumerable projects undertaken by Ali.
Our soldiers are also people like Naveed Tajammal and many others who wrote with their blood defending Pakistan’s ideological boundaries. These are the people who still act as the watchdogs in media, a role slowly but surely being eroded. The media is a powerful tool today. It can make and it can destroy. They can hold the country’s cultural fabric together or bring it down brick by brick; they can act as a bridge between different sections of the society or become the schism itself.
To all the soldiers of Pakistan: no matter what face you may wear, I offer my deepest respects.
A great piece for the great people, the great heroes of the sacred soil of Pakistan. We salute you. You! O men of valour! Those of you, who departed, you live in our heart for ever. Those still doing your job, we deeply respect you, salute you, you! our handsome smart boys in the armed forces of Pakistan or in the civil. waqai me ye saray naghmay, ye saray alfaz, ye sari aqeedatain, sari muhabbatain tumharay liye hain.
God Bless you too Nayyar Sahib.
"ZARA NAM HOU TOU YEH MITTI ZARKHEZ HAI SAQI" The nation is marvelous but the leadership is bogus and useless. LOOK AT THE THIEVES, WHO FILLED THE FOREIGN BANKS WITH LOOTED BOUNTY AND NEVER FEEL ASHAMED. LOL. NOTHING FURTHER TO SAY.
A befitting and timely tribute to our heros on a day when they are on their way to their new assignment on the Line of Control (LOC ) at Eastern border after guarding Durand Line at Western border for 3 years. Today in the evening they will be reaching Pindi and will share this article with them at "Bara Khana". Shwebos will miss their BABA BHAI and so will,we all Naveed Tajammal
A fantastic article Yasmeen especially general Malik, please write more details about him one day, how he went deep into Indian territory
Col (Then Maj) Anwar Hussain Shah, SJ is one of our heros of Battle of Battapur and we, SHWEBOS are proud of him. May he rest in peace and Allah SWT shower His blessing on him. Ameen.
Beautiful piece. Army is the backbone of Pakistan and appreciating its heroes is like supporting the vertebrae of that backbone. Keep up with the good work.
Gen Tajjammal,S/ldr Riffiqui, A/cdre MM Alam and the likes are the one's that the nation need to be proud of all times- respected and remembered for their sacrifices to the nation.
EEdhi Sb is also one of those whose name need be written in History. a person without high sounding degrees is managing an enormous welfare organisation which will knock out the management skills of the most trained managers. His welfare spans not only various activities but also vast areas. I am certain that of Mother Tressa did not match 1/10 th of the one by Maulana EEdhi. The only reason that I think he has not been considered for noble prize is because he sports a beard. Lest he appears in the media, the impression harvested for a sustained period about a bearded Muslim will stand exposed.
Yasmeen Sahiba,
Very well written. Nations who support and value the sacrifices of their soldiers do not worry about their future and security.
Dear Yasmeen,
You have expressed powerful words and evoked deep memories. I want to thank you profusely for not forgetting the valiant men and women of the armed forces.
Our young men dying within our own borders fighting evil personified, they are our heroes of today and we should salute them for their valiant sacrifices.
The shaheed lives forever and the ghazi awaits his turn to be shaheed. No one can ask for more, then to give his all for his country, they are the true lovers of Pakistan.
This nation of hypocritical leadership and their despicable sycophants, how can they understand what wearing a uniform means or the oath that binds us to the soil and enriches it with the martyrs blood.
Regards,
Ardeshir.
THANK YOU FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL PIECE WRITTEN WITH FEELING FROM THE DEPTHS OF YOUR HEART. I FULLY SHARE YOUR FEELINGS FOR THE BRAVE VICTORS AND FOR THOSE WHO FELL IN THE BATTLE FOR OUR SURVIVAL.
Salute to you Mam for remembering the
unsung heroes of this nation.
Rauf
I do not think that Indians were very much wrong in their claim of having a "Chota Peg" in Lahore because of some Mir Jafars among us. Our High Commissioner In India, Mian Arshad Hussain, had sent a top secret message to our Foreign Ministry through Turkish Embassy that India is going to attack Lahore on 6th September. This message was received in the Foreign Office on 4th September but was not passed on to the Army.Bhutto was the Foreign Minister and Aziz Ahmad the Foreign Secretary.It was a shock to Indians when they found resistance as Gen Sarfaraz had just moved the troops a little earlier despite Bhutto's policy of "No provocative gesture".It was certainly the valor of our troops that saved the day for us. The 3rd Baluch was led by Lt Col (later Major Gen) Tajammul Hussain Malik whose gallant performance was also recognized by the Indians in 1971 War (Eastern Theater).
Air Marshal Asghar khan has said what Bhutto could not achieve in 1965, he managed it in 1971.
For all those who wore with pride the uniform of a soldier and no matter which country they belong too and who had also fought with such valour and gallantry, they must always be honoured and remembered and should never be ignore.Because they are the true real sons of the soil and who for the love of their beloved watan were always ready to even die.
Incidentally I have also covered quite a few of them in my epic book NOTHING BUT'–May Allah- Talla bless them and their families.
regards
Samir
Thankyou for remembering the sacrifices of our valiant sons due to whom we have a Country, they were best eulogized by Nooro in her Iconic song;
eh putr hattan tay nehi vikday
ke labdi eyey'n vich bazaar kurh'y !
Bless you & your Pen !
Naveed Tajammul was my Platoon Mate in Ghaznavi Company, 4th Platoon, at the PMA. Our Platoon Corporal was Corporal Raheel Sharif. Polite and honest to a faiult, Naveed lived for Pakistan and Pakistan was hois passion. We had many a long discussion on East Pakistan (I lost my Dad there while his Dad had fought a long battle and then endured captivity) during our days at the PMA and for a while as Officers in the elite Baluch Regiment. Thank you, Madam, for a factually correct and beautifully written ode to our heros. God Bless you. God Bless Pakistan.
I am touchedShaukat Sahib. God Bless You too.
Few can comment on the writings of this lady who to my mind is also a patriotic hero of our beloved country. Like she with her late husband Mr Naveed Tajammal defend the intellectual, ethical and moral frontiers of Pakistan. In this new world where media plays such an important role, here are two people who have always looked after and defended us in the media, talk shows and writing brilliant treatise to show the soft face of Pakistan. The article above is a reflection of these attributes. I raise my hand in full salute to her.
Being an air force man, I agree with her about the brilliance and bravery of people like MM Alam, Rafiqui, Yunus and Cecil Chaudhry and many others like Mitty Masud, Nosey Haider, Middlecoat, Khusro, Christy, Arshad and Anwar Choudhry Shaheed and a third brother–also a shaheed, Dilawar, Schames, Saeed Afzal, MM Ahmed, Ali Kazim, Inam Sb and so many others who had the will and zeal to defend their nation despite huge odds. People like Safi Mustafa, Saeed Afazal and MM Ahmed who were brutally murdered by the Muktis in East Pakistan; they are all vividly in my mind.
When I speak of our heroes I must also mention some of our traitors, actually no word is strong enough to condemn their anti Pakistan activities. The most blatant of them all are Asma Jahangir and Hamid Mir. They are lucky they live thrive and then back stab their own country, Pakistan. If they were in India that nation is known for zero tolerance for anti state activities. By now they would have been eliminated. Our countrymen should beware of such nefarious elements and do everything in their power to raise their voices against such Pakistan haters and support our valiant soldiers regardless of rank and service.
Thank you Yasmeen for your boldness and for being a brave and exemplary Pakistani. You make us proud.
Asma Jehngir has proven herself to be minus spine or moral fiber, an opportunist par excellence, ready to change positions for own benefit, who uses her legal strengths for self promotion than for anything else.
Eidhi would be a worthy contender for the Nobel Prize.
It is not Malala’s fault if Edhi has not been given Nobel prize. Some say it was politics. If that was so, then I think the prize would have gone to Asma Jahangir.
Masud
Comments are closed.