The martyrs of the Tirah Valley

Far from the glare of the media, soldiers of Pakistan Army make the ultimate sacrifice.

ISLAMABAD:

“For me, Mustafa is everywhere, he never left us. Our 7-year-old daughter Rameen is proud of her father’s martyrdom,” says Sadia Mustafa, widow of Major Mustafa Sabir, who embraced martyrdom last week during clashes with militants in the Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency among other 23 military personnel. Rameen talks tirelessly about her father, and misses him badly, especially when she remembers how he would take her for ice cream. 

Mustafa was associated with the 8 Punjab regiment while participating in a military operation in Khyber Agency’s Tirah Valley, which fell to the combined forces of the Tehrik-e-Taliban and the Lashkar-e-Islam. It is considered to be a crucial battlefield in Pakistan’s war against both foreign and local terrorists.

The wounds are still raw, but this brave woman dares to share her pain. “We are proud of his martyrdom; Allah granted him what he always prayed for. In accordance with Mustafa’s wish, I want to give my children a quality education so they can also serve their homeland just like their father.”

The valiant Mustafa who had served on key posts such as Siachen, South Waziristan and Swat, was born on September 19, 1978 in Faisalabad. He had joined Pakistan army in 1998 as a commissioned officer and was also part of United Nations peacekeeping mission for Congo.

Sadia said her husband was a brave soldier like his colleagues, adding that she calls up her husband’s unit officials on a daily basis to inquire about their well being.

A decisive operation has been launched against militants in the Tirah valley by Special Services Groups (SSG) forces along with regular troops, during which at least 23 troops have been killed along with local lashkar men. Scores of militants have also been killed.

According to statistics released by ISPR, around 2,400 personnel lost their lives and another 6,500 were wounded just in 2009-2010. In comparison, US/Nato forces in the region combined had a casualty figure of approximately 1,600. This shows the high price being paid by the Pakistani nation to eliminate terrorism. Sadly, it is a sacrifice that is rarely acknowledged and even in Pakistan, we rarely hear of the names behind the numbers.

One such name is of Captain Waseem -u- Din Razi. Just about a month ago, on the 5th of April, this brave son of Pakistan embraced martyrdom in the Tirah Valley.

Born 29 April 1987 in Karachi, Captain Waseem was a gutsy young commando of the SSG who, since his passing out, had participated in many furious military actions including the Swat operation.

As if guided by an inner intuition, Waseem this time paid a short visit to his ancestral home in Islamabad to seek permission for going for Jihad in the line of duty, before the last mission of his life. “It is binding upon us to seek permission from parents before proceeding for Jihad,” he had said. After acquiring that permission from his mother, he loudly said goodbye to all, briskly walked to the vehicle waiting outside his home, and never looked back.

He had promised his mother to call when he reached the operational area. When he did, his mother asked where he was. He replied, “I have reached the place where I was supposed to be”.

During the Swat operation, says his family, Waseem had moments where he questioned what he was doing: Is it okay to fight against our own brothers? He would wonder. But when he encountered the opponents on the ground, he found that the militants, who claimed to be fighting for Islam, were themselves violating Islamic injunctions. Waseem was disturbed at their brutality, their executions and hostage-taking and their acts of forcing young girls to marry them against their will.  Since then, Capt Waseem Shaheed very devotedly started seeking inspiration from the guiding principles of religion, and had a clear understanding of the concepts of martyrdom and Jihad. He knew that this was his war, and in the valley of Tirah, he gave his life fighting it.


Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2013.