Martyrdom of six Army officers confirmed to be on board missing helicopter

KARACHI:

wreckage of a military the helicopter that went missing on Monday evening was found in coastal region of Balochistan and no one of in six officers and crew on board It has survived in crashmilitary media wing said on Tuesday.

Commander of the 12th Corps, Lieutenant General Sarfaraz Ali, Major General Amjad Hanif, Brigadier General Muhammad Khalid, Major Saeed Ahmed, Major M. Talha Manan and Naik Mudassar Fayyaz on board Mi-17 helicopter of Army aviation.

Lieutenant General Ali was in charge of relief operations. in Balochistan, which was hit hard flash floods triggered due to heavy monsoon rains in provinces.

“Wreckage of the unfortunate helicopter on flood relief operations were found in Musa Goth, Vindar, Lasbela [district of Balochistan]”, wrote Maj. Gen. DG ISPR Babar Iftikhar. on his verified handle on Twitter.

“All six officers and soldiers, including Lieutenant General Sarfaraz Ali, accepted Shahadat [martyrdom],” It added in tweet. “According to preliminary data, the accident occurred due to bad weather”.

Helicopter went missing after communication was lost with in air traffic control on Monday. military began a search operation, which was hampered by difficult mountainous terrain. of Lasbelsky district.

Lieutenant General Sarfaraz Ali commanded the 12th Corps. one of brilliant officers of Pakistani army. During his brilliant career, he held the most prestigious positions in the army. He was a distinguished officer who twice received Tamga Basalat during the war on terrorism.

He also served as an instructor in Command and Staff College, Commander of the 111th Brigade, Director General of Military Intelligence and IGFC Balochistan in the most difficult times.

Lieutenant General Sarfaraz Ali, who originally from Lahore survived his wife and daughter and three sons. He was authorized in 6th Azad Kashmir Regiment in March 1989 and served for 33 years in Pakistani army.

Major General Amjad Hanif was the CEO. of Pakistan Coast Guard. BUT native of Ravalakot, AJK, he was authorized in 19th Azad Kashmir Regiment in April 1994 and served for 29 years in Pakistani army. He survived on one daughter and two sons.

Brig Khalid was the commander of the engineering troops of the 12th Corps. He provided permission of landmines and other similar improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in former tribal regions during Operation Zarb-i-Azan. Be out of the corps of Engineers, he was now leading the entire rescue operation in flood-hit Balochistan.

Brig Khalid, native of Faisalabad, was commissioned in 20th engineer battalion in 1994 and served for 29 years in Pakistani army. He has three daughters and the same number of sons.

Other crew members included Major Saeed Ahmed (pilot), who is survived his wife one son as well as one daughter belonged to the Larka region of Sind. Major Muhammad Talha Manan (co-pilot) left behind his wife and two sons. Crew chief Naik Mudassir Fayyaz was also married man from Narovalsky district.

President calls COAS

President Arif Alvi paid tribute to the memory of the martyrs for their services for country and nation and said that “sons of of soil”, who we busy in flood relief activities in Balochistan, martyred while serving the nation with ultimate devotion. “These sons equipped with spirit of selfless service are the benefactors of the people,” he stressed.

During a telephone conversation with Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the President recalled his meeting with Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali during his last a visit to Gwadar and a briefing given to him by the corps commander.

During the briefing, President Alvi said that he found Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali is a competent, intelligent and efficient officer. The army commander informed the president that poor visibility due to bad weather during flood relief activities caused helicopter crash.

Read: helicopter with army general on board disappears

The President told COAS that he intended to attend the memorial service. for martyrs and would like to especially condole with families of the dead.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed deep sorrow and sorrow over shahdat of Quetta corps commander and other army officers and soldiers in unfortunate helicopter accident.

prime minister said that all the people greeted the martyrs. He prayed for high ranks of departed souls and for families are losing with equanimity, according to the PM Office.

Expressing their condolences and condolences with families of the dead prime minister these sons said of the soil was pride of nation who paved down their lives, saving compatriots trapped in floods in Balochistan. He said the whole nation is mourning over grim incident.

In a separate tweet prime minister said: “The people are deeply saddened on martyrdom of Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali and five other officers of Pakistani army. They made sacred duty of Giving help flood affects. Will remain in eternal debt to these sons of soil. My sincere condolences to the families of the victims.”

Separately, PTI head Imran Khan also expressed regret and sorrow over helicopter tragedy. “Tragic news about an army aviation helicopter crash and martyrdom of all six on board.

My condolences and prayers to the families of martyrs,” he wrote. in tweet.

“I had the privilege of knowing Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali, whom I found be a real professional and a decent, honest person,” he said. added.