ISLAMABAD: Ten Pakistani soldiers who lost their lives on Saturday in two separate militant attacks in the country’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces were laid to rest on Sunday with full military honors.
Captain Aaqib Javed, a young officer buried in his hometown of Sargodha who died in the Balochistan ambush, was to be married on August 24, a local news channel reported.
The bodies of all the soldiers were transported to their native cities and villages. Their relatives performed the final funeral rites, and uniformed personnel offered gun salutes and placed wreaths on their graves.
Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Imran Khan paid his condolences and respect to the ten fallen soldiers.
“I salute our armed forces personnel who continue to lay down their lives fighting terrorists to keep the nation safe. My condolences & prayers go to the families of the 10 brave soldiers, including an officer, martyred fighting terrorists in North Waziristan & Balochistan today,” Khan said in a Twitter post.
According to the Inter Services Public Relations, the military’s media wing, six Pakistani soldiers were killed near the Afghan border when “terrorists from across the border” fired on a patrol in the North Wazirstan region.
The attack came after four paramilitary officials patrolling in southwestern Balochistan province were killed on Friday in an ambush by unidentified militants, the military said.
In a Twitter post on Saturday, Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa paid his respects to the martyrs and their families and said the military would “ensure defense and security of motherland at the cost of our sweat and blood.”
He said the attacks were the “dying efforts of frustrated inimical forces while Pakistan moves from stability to enduring peace.”
It’s time for the world to facilitate regional peace,” he said.