Gayari tragedy: 133 bodies of soldiers recovered: Gen Kayani

Appreciates the efforts of troops who succeeded in retrieving the bodies.

GAYARI:

Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has vowed to continue efforts for the recovery of the remaining bodies of the martyrs of Gayari sector of Siachen.

The army chief said that 133 bodies of the martyrs have so far been recovered. He lauded the untiring efforts‚ dedication and devotion of the troops who succeeded in accomplishing this difficult task.

Kayani also said that the entire nation stands by the armed forces of Pakistan in performing their sacred obligation of defence of the country. While paying tribute to the martyrs of Gayari sector, COAS Parvez Kayani on Wednesday said the nation would never forget the sacrifices of its martyred army jawans.

The army chief was speaking at a commemorative event held near Siachen glacier to honour the 140 army jawans martyred on April 7, 2012 due to an avalanche at night.

High ranking army officers and jawans attended the event in the backdrop of high altitude mountains in strategically important Gayari sector.

The army chief said the army vowed to search all its martyred jawans buried alive under 120 feet and hand over their bodies to the heirs with dignity and honour.

“It was an impossible task but the army determinedly accepted it as a challenge,” he said adding, the long drawn search was carried out in a 13,000 feet high area covered with snow.

The army chief said Pakistani and international experts called the search operation a futile effort and suggested to declare the site a mass grave.

According to some experts, seven to eight years were required to dig out the bodies but despite all the difficulties, the army was unwavering in its determination, he recalled.

“It is a matter of satisfaction that the jawans of Pakistan army completed the task with unprecedented courage and persistence,” the army chief added.

The armed forces, with the help of 50 heavy excavation equipment, worked day and night and succeeded in digging out bodies of 133 martyrs, he noted.

He expressed determination that the search for bodies would continue till the remaining seven bodies were taken out and handed over to their loved ones for dignified burials.

The army chief thanked Frontier Works Organization (FWO), National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and international community for their contribution during the gigantic operation.

He also thanked the nation for its prayers and complete support to the Pakistan Army. The army chief also said the whole nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the army in the sacred duty of defence of Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2013.