Army major martyred in DI Khan: ISPR

ISLAMABAD: An army major embraced martyrdom in an exchange of fire during a search operation at a terrorist hideout in Kulachi, Dera Ismail Khan on Wednesday, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor tweeted.

The 28-year-old martyr, Major Ishaq, belonged to Khushab, Punjab, and has left behind a widow and an infant.

The funeral prayer of the deceased was held at Dera Ismail Khan, and was attended by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and other high-ranking officials, including Corps Commander Peshawar Lt Gen Nazir Butt. 

In his tweet, the ISPR chief said, "We have a sacred duty at hand of cleansing & defending our motherland; WE SHALL DO IT".

In a follow-on tweet, Ghafoor reiterated that sacrifices by the martyrs of the motherland will not go in vain or will be compromised upon. 

After attending the funeral, the COAS visited Corps of Military Police Training Centre and appointed Lieutenant General Anwar Ali Hyder, Adjutant General of Pakistan Army as the Colonel Commandant of Corps of Military Police.

The army chief also visited the of Headquarters Frontier Corps KPK (South) and Defence Services Guard (DSG) Centre. Bajwa was briefed about operational preparedness of the FC, progress of ongoing operations, FC capacity building and training and the administration of DSG.

The martyred official is the fourth officer to be killed in the line of duty in the past three months.

On November 13, Captain Junaid Hafeez and Sepoy Raham were martyred in a cross-border attack by terrorists from Afghanistan in Bajaur Agency.

Four other troops were injured in the assault on the border post.

On Nov 9, sepoy Mohammad Ilyas was martyred during an exchange of fire with terrorists in Khyber Agency. On October 3, another soldier had embraced martyrdom after terrorists fired from across the Afghan border on a post.

The incident had occurred at the recently cleared area around Mustil pass, an important passage from Afghanistan into Rajgal, in Khyber Agency. The martyred soldier was identified by ISPR as Naib Subedar Azher Ali.

On September 23, another officer embraced martyrdom during firing by terrorists from across the border in Rajgal, Khyber Agency.

Lieutenant Arsalan Alam, who was commanding the post when he got hit, was 22 years old. 

On August 9, a major and three soldiers laid down their lives during a military operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Major Ali Salman — who hailed from a 'secret agency' — was leading a team in an anti-terrorist operation in Timergara, Dir when a suicide bomber attacked them.