Daily Times

Funeral prayers for seven soldiers, who were martyred on Saturday in an operation in North Waziristan, were held in Rawalpindi on Sunday.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa attended the prayers after which the bodies were sent to respective home towns for burial with full military honour, said a Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.

According to the statement, law enforcement agencies had received reports that a group of terrorists had infiltrated from across the border and were hiding in a compound. An operation was launched against them and nine terrorists were killed.

Those who embraced martyrdom included Captain Junaid, havaldars Amir, Atif, Nasir and Abdul Razzaq, and sepoys Sami and Anwar. On September 13, four terrorists were killed and three soldiers martyred in an operation in North Waziristan region.

The martyred soldiers were identified as Lieutenant Moeen, naeb subedar Nazir Ahmed and Fakhar. The terrorists killed were allegedly wanted by security forces in an attack on law enforcement personnel.

On August 23, a security officer was martyred and three others injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Dan Kilay area of North Waziristan. The incident occurred when a Pakistan Army’s bomb disposal team was conducting a routine search and clearance operation.

Published in Daily Times, September 24^th 2018.