RAWALPINDI: President Asif Ali Zardari said that the people of Pakistan and its armed forces are united and will face terrorism in unison and expressed determination to make terrorists responsible for the blood of every martyred Jawan, the President’s Press Wing Secretariat said in a statement on Sunday.
Late on Saturday, the President attended the funeral prayers of Shaheed Lt. Col. Syed Kashif Ali and Capt. Muhammad Ahmed Bader, who were martyred in Mir Ali in the North Waziristan district in a terrorist attack earlier in the day.
The President paid tribute to the martyrs and reiterated his determination to respond to terrorist activities with full force. Brave brothers, sons and friends of the nation protected the borders, Zardari said. He promised that the blood of the sons of the soil would not be in vain,” the statement added.
Two brave officers were among the seven martyred in a terrorist attack in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali area. The funeral prayers were held at Chaklala Garrison in Rawalpindi, according to the Army’s media wing.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, as well as Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, senior serving military and civilian officers, relatives of Shuhad, also attended the funeral. and residents of the area.
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The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said troops foiled the first attempt to break into the army installation in the early hours of the morning. However, a group of six terrorists drove into it with a vehicle loaded with explosives. Six terrorists were also killed in the subsequent clearance operation.
According to ISPR, the military’s media wing, President Zardari said: “Pakistan has decided that whoever enters our borders, homes or country and commits terror, we will respond strongly to him, no matter who he is or from which country.” .”
“This noble sacrifice is another glorious testimony to the unwavering determination of our valiant sons who never hesitated to offer the ultimate sacrifice for the defense of our motherland. The entire nation stands in solidarity with our armed forces,” he added.
Zardari lauded Pakistan’s military, saying it had “consistently upheld the ideals of faith, unity, and discipline and always strived to set higher standards of professionalism and loyalty in its relentless fight against terrorism”.
The bodies of the martyrs were later taken to their hometowns where they will be laid to rest with full military honors, the ISPR said. The other five martyred soldiers were Havildar Sabir, a resident of Khyber district; Naik Khurshid, a resident of Lakki Marwat district; Sepoy Nasir, a resident of Peshawar; Sepoy Raja, a resident of Kohat; and Sepoy Sajjad, a resident of Abbottabad.
A group linked to the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, claimed responsibility for the attack. Bahadur’s outfit is the most powerful militant group in North Waziristan. After Operation Zarb-e-Azb in 2014, he fled to Afghanistan.
