ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan Army officer who succumbed to his wounds last week after clashes with militants, was laid to rest with full military honors, the army’s media wing said on Monday.
Lt. Uzair Mehmood Malik was injured during clashes between Pakistani security forces and militants in Tirah Valley in the Khyber district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Friday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing.
The clashes had left four militants and three Pakistani soldiers dead, while Lt. Malik was taken to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Peshawar in a critical condition. On Sunday, he succumbed to his wounds at the hospital.
“Lt. Uzair Mehmood Malik, age 24 and resident of district Attock, who was martyred in the exchange of fire between security forces and the Khawarij in Tirah Valley, was buried with full military honors in his native area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
The army said a large number of senior army officers, soldiers, family members of martyrs and elders of the area participated in his burial.
“The sacrifice of our brave martyrs strengthens our resolve against terrorism,” the ISPR said.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant activities since the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, unilaterally called off a fragile ceasefire with the government in November 2022.
Much of TTP’s militant activity has been confined to the country’s western provinces, prompting security officials to launch intelligence-based operations against its fighters who are reportedly armed with sophisticated military equipment, including night vision devices.