Avalanche traps about 150 Pakistani soldiers

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Martyrs Never Die

The martyrs were from Karachi and interior Sindh, from Punjab, Balochistan, Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They were in Siachen not to secure a plot or a seat in parliament. They came to serve the motherland. God and all Pakistanis should look after their children.


ADNAN GILL | Wednesday | 11 April 2012 | The News International
PakNationalists.net


ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—One hundred and thirty-nine brave Pakistanis, 124 of whom were members of the Pakistani army, lie buried under 80 feet of snow on the Siachen Glacier after an avalanche crashed down on a battalion headquarters at Gyari near Skardu on Saturday. The massive avalanche which hit before dawn while the victims were sleeping was 1,000 meters long and 25 meters wide.

On Sunday military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said it was not clear whether any of the victims were still alive. As these lines are written, hopes are rapidly fading, as not a single survivor or body has been dug out from the snow. Funeral prayers have already been offered in Pakistan for the victims of the tragedy.

Pakistanis should not think of them as dead but as living, because they laid down their lives for the motherland. God has instructed us to remember such people as martyrs, and martyrs never die. The martyrs of Siachen are going to be in good company in heaven, with all the heroes who laid down their lives in defense of our frontiers.

The people of Pakistan should not let the tragedy lower their morale. The morale of Pakistani officers and men is as high as ever. As Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Chief of the Army Staff, said in a statement in reaction to the incident, that the tragedy “in no way should affect the morale of the troops defending the motherland at the highest battlefield.”

Gen Kayani, who visited the site on Sunday to personally supervise the rescue effort, gave the assurance that the army and the air force had mobilized all available resources for the operation. In his instructions to local commanders, he asked them to “utilize all available resources” and “leave no stone unturned” in their efforts to find those buried under the snow.

Indeed the Pakistani army did not leave any stone unturned. The valiant members of the search and rescue teams, who joined the effort defying tremendous difficulties including the freezing cold and the fierce wind, used sniffer dogs and specialized heavy machinery for digging. More than 200 army personnel pressed ahead although extreme weather conditions had worsened by fresh heavy snowfall. Even daytime temperatures plunged to minus 15 degrees Celsius.

The Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram Mountain Range is the world’s highest battleground at more than 20,000 feet, where Pakistani and Indian soldiers are facing each other since 1984. The terrain is extremely inhospitable and the temperatures can plunge as low as minus 150 degrees C. More soldiers die from cold and bad weather, blizzards and the icy winds than in fighting. There has not been much fighting since Pakistan and India declared a ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, where the Siachen Glacier is.

There is no ethnic distinction between these martyrs. Among them are Punjabis, Pathans, Baloch, Sindhis and Urdu-speaking Pakistanis. They laid down their lives to enable us to return to our children and our families in the safety of our homes all over Pakistan. These 139 martyrs did everything to make sure that Pakistan’s borders are secure and the citizens of the country continue to live in honor, dignity and freedom.

None of the individual among the martyrs lost his life arrived on the Siachen Glacier to secure a piece of agricultural land or a residential, or a seat in parliament in the future. But who will look after the martyrs’ family and children? God and Pakistanis from all walks of life who have a desire to serve the motherland.

The dedication of the martyrs of the Siachen Tragedy will be a source of inspiration for generations of Pakistanis to come.

PakNationalists Blog | A Bold Take On Pakistani Policy

 

[regular]

I wish and hope that the rescue mission will be completed successfully with maximum survival of the lifes of our brave soldiers...Insha-Allah......

 

[darkinsky]

its time to redeem oneself by not fighting america's war there and once and for all include fata and balochistan in national stream and create peace and no more kidnappings, no more killings, no more wars

we have seen floods, earth quake and now avalanche

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

‘We Stand, Like K2, To Defend Kashmir’: Glimpses Into Siachen Tragedy


By AAMNA KAHLOON |


We don’t know much yet about the families of the 139 brave sons of the nation trapped under tons of snow in Kashmir. Hopefully the military will release more information about each one of them so that the nation can see up close the price paid to defend the motherland.

But we managed to get a glimpse into the lives and thoughts of two brave officers missing from the battalion headquarters of 6 Northern Light Infantry. I wish we could find information on all of our 139 Pakistanis because each one of them is precious, whether civilian or military, senior officer or junior.

I discovered the profiles of two officers: PA-39548 Major Zaka Ul Haq and PA-105358 Captain Haleem Ullah Tareen ( AMC) on Facebook. One of them is from a district in Punjab, and the other one from the provincial capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; two proud and committed young Pakistani officers. In this report, we will see through their thoughts and through the eyes of their friends how these two young soldiers were imbued with a high sense of purpose, to defend the motherland. While doing this, we’ll learn how Pakistan’s younger generation is very patriotic.

Rescue efforts on Sunday, Mar. 8. Photo credit: PKKH

CAPTAIN HALEEM ULLAH TAREEN

On his Facebook page, Capt. Haleem comes across as a dedicated soldier. He was religious, showed interest in traditional Pakistani music and culture. He was also passionate about medicine.

He graduated from Islamia College in Peshawar, class of 2004. He joined the prestigious National University of Sciences and Technology [NUST] in Islamabad, where he specialized in medicine and graduated from NUST’s Army Medical College [AMC] with an MBBS, class of 2009.


Capt. Tareen was in love with Urdu poetry. He had liked the pages of two of Pakistan’s famous folk singers: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and his nephew Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. He also liked the page of a famous Indian singer Jagjit Singh, known for singing poems in Urdu, Pakistan’s national language.

Apart from traditional Pakistani music, he admired the country’s emerging pop music culture and liked the page of Coke Studio, a project that seeks to encourage Pakistani music.

He was not married, and one of his last conversations was apparently with his sister Aisha. He told her something about not holding back if you want to open your heart to someone, and was expecting some good news from his sister about a task he gave her, which apparently involved his choice of a life partner and wedding plans.


Capt. Haleem Tareen, Sept. 4, 2011
Ammara Ayub posted this comment on Facebook quoting Capt. Tareen’s sister Aisha:

“kabhi koi bat dil mai mat rakhna,jo zaban pe aye bs keh do.agey se response jo b miley..kam az kam tmhen sari zindagi afsos to nhn rahega k u had a chance but u did not say anthn"...LAST WORDS OF HALEEM TAREEN in his last call a nite before the incident...19min ki call the.phir operator ne kaha SIR CO SAAB NE CAL KARNI HAI...and he said "ok aisha i will cal u later,u dnt wory,n i dnt want to c u cry...always remembr that ur brother is with u so u dnt need to wory"....he ws right.shaheed hamesha zinda rehte hain( magar unho ne ye sb kyun kaha???cuz he ws going to make me cry for the rest of my life:,(( he had given me a task or har dosre din cal ker k puchte k mera kam kiya ya nhn?and 2day i had a good news for him...aj unho ne cal kerni the mjhe..im waiting for ur cal my brother u cant go like ths...apko wapas ana parega( please come back plzzzzzzz.i need to tel u jis bat ka ap ne itna intezar kiya tha.u wil hav to com bak werna mje afsos reh jayega k ye bat mere dil mai reh gai:,((( m such a FAILURE...''
[TRANSLATION: Never keep something in your heart. Just say it and then whatever response you get, at least you won’t regret it for the rest of your life that you had a chance and you didn’t take it. These were the last words of Haleem Tareen in his last call a night before the incident. He talked for 19 minutes, and then the operator of the exchange interrupted our conversation and said, ‘commander wants to call [Capt. Haleem]’. And he said, ‘Ok Aisha I will call you later. You don’t worry and I don’t want to see you cry. Always remember that your brother is with you so you don’t need to worry.’ He was right. A martyr is always alive  But why he said this to me? Cuz he was going to make me cry for the rest of my life  He had given me a task and would call me every second day to ask if I did his work or not. And today I had good news for him. Today he was supposed to call me. I am waiting for your call my brother. You can’t go like this. You will have to come back  Please come back plzzzzz. I need to tell you what you have waited so much to hear. Otherwise I will have to live the rest of my life with that thing you wanted to hear. I’m such a failure”]

Capt. Tareen was a fan of Geo News, and liked the movie Shawshank Redemption. In sports, he preferred volleyball and cricket.

He had liked the pages of Prophet Mohammad [PBUH] and Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, leader of Pakistan Independence Movement.

Interestingly, he had also liked the page of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, the party led by Imran Khan and widely considered by young Pakistanis to be a pro-Pakistan nationalist party.

One of his last posts, on March 28, was a picture of a man and a woman with a quote that said: “A man who treats his woman like a princess is proof that he has been born and raised in the arms of a Queen”.

He made his last status update on March 29, at 4:15pm via mobile. “In Skardu again …” he wrote from the last point before departing for the Siachen Glacier base.

MAJOR ZAKA UL HAQ

Maj. Zaka’s profile page on Facebook shows a deeply patriotic officer, thoughtful, and a proud father of his daughter Maryam, now three, and son Jehanzaib, now one-year-old.

Maj. Zaka's FB page

He completed his high school from Cadet College Hassan Abdal, class of 1997, and college from the same institution, class of 1999.

His favorite quote: ‘Hope is a good thing, may be the best of things: and good things never die.’

He liked football and tennis and followed the news of famous athletes. His taste in films was interesting. Among his favorite movies: Shawshank Redemption, Last of the Mohicans, One Who Flew Over Cuckoo’s Nest, Silence of the Lambs, Forrest Gump, and The Usual Suspects.

He liked the pages of Prophet Mohammad The best Man in the World, and Quaid-e-Azam, and Holy Quran.

On the day he left for Siachen Glacier, he posted this couplet in Urdu:

[Translation: We stand on the borders of faith, like Mount K2, to defend Siachen against the band of deniers]


Maj. Zaka ul Haq, Dec. 26, 2010
Maj. Zaka had a strong personality. He was a survivor.

A friend, Usman Anwar Rana, posted this message on Zaka’s page: “If u could make Iqbal Wing Champion, it’s not a harder task for u 2 survive”.

Faisal Naimat posted: “I have never seen a person, human, upright officer like him. He was my corporal in PMA. I still feel that Sir Zaka will come out of this avalanche. Salahuddin platoon love u SIR ZAKA .We miss u.”

Ali Rauf wrote: “Don’t have words. Iin a shock. Zacky , you have always been so lively …”

Mohammad Sajjad Iqbal wrote: “Come on Zaka we are waiting for u. Miss u my brother.”

Fahd Rasul: “Zaky! You are a fighter and dear brother to me. Please fight this one out!”


One of his last shares on Facebook was a video titled, How To Make A Princess Doll Birthday Cake.

And his last activity on the site, on March 3, was to add Formula One to his list of favorite sports.

PakNationalists Blog | A Bold Take On Pakistani Policy

 

[jabalultariq]

This is a long tribute to the mother of shaheed , I edited it a bit :

In Maanon ki azmat ko Salam
Jo is watan per apne bete qurban karte hain

Phir eik sakoot sa cha gaya
Asman ko bhi rona a gaya
Phir eik larzte hoee awaz aye
Mera beta tu hayat-e-jawadani pa gaya
Hilali perchum ko sena se lagya uss nay

Shaheed ki mait pa eik bi ansoo na bahya uss nay

Her saans main yeh frmya uss nay

Soa betay iss watan per qurban yeh azam dorha uss nay

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

286 soldiers including 60 civilians alongwith dozers and JCB (used for digging) are employed at the incident site for rescue operation. Effort is further being beefed up. They have so far cleared one platform measuring a 40 feet length, 30 feet wide and 10 feet deep. 5 helicopters are taking part in the operation while heavy machinery, additional manpower including technical experts from National Disaster Management Authority and Strategic Planning Division have been moved from Islamabad via C 130.

An expert team comprising 3 individuals from Switzerland is arriving tonight to assist in rescue operations.

Another disaster management team comprising 6 individuals alongwith necessary equipment from Germany will also arrive Islamabad tonight.

Source: ISPR

 

[Ark-Angel]

Quran Khani's for the success of Gayari Operation to be held all over Pakistan in different officer messes. All entertainment activities CANCELLED. Good!

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

zardari had no problem celebrating in hindustan and stuffing his face with expensive delicacies and enjoying drink while 135 of his country's men were buried and in a precarious situation (one that has probably already taken most, if not all the lives of the trapped)


after that, and after the floods (when he went to his French chateau) i have so much contempt and disgust for this man.....you cant even call him a man

 

[VCheng]

450 men, digging manually as best as they can at 13,000 feet, aided by "2 Dozers, 2 JCB (Earth Mover), 3 Excavator and 2 dumpers", are nowhere near enough the resources needed to accelerate the process of recovery.

I hope additional resources, both manpower and mechanical, are made available as quickly as possible.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

even 10 dozers and 30 earthmovers is not enough when you're dealing with 12 million cubic meters of snow, hard ice, cracked boulders and other sediments (some of which weigh more than the dozers)

 

[VCheng]

even 10 dozers and 30 earthmovers is not enough when you're dealing with 12 million cubic meters of snow, hard ice, cracked boulders and other sediments (some of which weigh more than the dozers)

Exactly my point.

The slow pace of progress until now does not bode well for any good news, I fear.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

I don't want to be ''that guy'' ....


but you all should forget ''good news'' at this point. If ''good news'' means pulling out survivors -- well then youre wasting time if you think there will be good news.

good to keep faithful and good to believe in miracles.....but God damn it be realistic too, no human body can endure being buried under that much ice and snow for anything more than a few HOURS


weather was not on our side during the first day of rescue/recover efforts and this has already cost us valuable time.....

 

[ashokdeiva]

I don't want to be ''that guy'' ....


but you all should forget ''good news'' at this point. If ''good news'' means pulling out survivors -- well then youre wasting time if you think there will be good news.

good to keep faithful and good to believe in miracles.....but God damn it be realistic too, no human body can endure being buried under that much ice and snow for anything more than a few HOURS


weather was not on our side during the first day of rescue/recover efforts and this has already cost us valuable time.....

Have to agree, the chance of finding survivors reduces each second and its almost nill after this long unless some miracle happens.
These men were stationed in one of the hostile environments the world has ever known and will always be remembered as heros,

 

[Jango]

After a few more days, in order to preserve the dignity of those soldiers, and given the extreme difficulty and danger in retrieving the bodies, it may be that declaring the areas a a graveyard with markings could be a prudent option.

They have gotten this far, why stop after a few days?

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

a memorial of some sort should be made there not just for these martyrs but for all martyrs of Pakistan in uniform

the efforts should not end until each and every soldier is uncovered and handed over to their families.....and/or by whatever miracle, a survivor is pulled out

no surrender until this is done