50th martyrdom anniversary of Lance Naik Muhammad Mehfooz today

Rawalpindi: The 50th martyrdom anniversary of Lance Naik Muhammad Mehfooz Shaheed (Nishan-e-Haider), gallant son of 15 Punjab Regiment, is being observed today.

Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar in his Twitter post has paid rich tribute to Lance Naik Muhammad Mehfooz Shaheed for his courage he displayed in 1971 Pakistan-India war at the Wagah Border.

We pay tribute to Lance Naik M Mehfooz shaheed NH. 50 yrs ago, on this day in 1971 at Wagah Border,
he displayed utmost courage charging enemy trenches fearlessly and silencing their guns. His heroic actions continue to be an inspiration for defenders of nation.

— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) December 17, 2021

Muhammad Mehfooz was born on October 25, 1944, in village Malkan of District Rawalpindi. He received his early education from his village. In 1962, he joined the Pakistan Army and after completion of Basic Military Training in 1963, he was placed in 15 Punjab Regiment.

He took part in Indo-Pak War of 1971 at Wagah Border. On the night December 17, a company of the 15 Punjab was ordered to attack Kangri Pull inside enemy territory. During the attack, a bomb exploded near Lance Naik Muhammad Mehfooz in which he got badly injured and his machine-gun became out of order.

He crawled in to a nearby trench of a shaheed firer and got hold of his machine-gun and started firing. Meanwhile, he noticed that an enemy machine-gun was effectively engaging our troops. Muhammad Mehfooz crawled towards the enemy trench and on reaching within 10 yards charged on it. He caught the enemy firer by his neck and pushed him to death.

Meanwhile, other two enemy soldiers kept on stabbing him with their bayonets. Lance Naik Muhammad Mehfooz got badly injured and embraced shahadat, however his clutches never left the neck of his adversary, which was later freed with great effort.

On March 23, 1972, the Pakistan Government in recognition of the bravery of Lance Naik Muhammad Mehfooz Shaheed, awarded him with the top military award ‘Nishan-e-Haider.’