On Thursday, six Pakistanis were among 117 UN peacekeepers who received UN medals of courage for sacrificing their lives for the sake of peace.
Six Pakistani UN peacekeepers died in a helicopter crash in March of this year, embracing martyrdom.
On March 29, a Puma helicopter carrying eight UN peacekeepers, including six Pakistanis on a reconnaissance mission, crashed in the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing all eight.
Five of the six were members of the armed forces: Tahir Ikram, Tahir Mehmood, Mohammed Naeem, Adil Jan, and Mohammed Shafiq, while Ibrar Syed was the only civilian.
Secretary-General António Guterres lay a wreath at the UN Headquarters to honor the approximately 4,200 United Nations peacekeepers who have died since 1948.
Namaz e Janaza of Shaheed officers & soldiers who embraced shahadat in a helicopter crash at United Nations Mission Congo was offered at Chaklala Garrison. COAS, serving & retired military personnel including UN officials & relatives of shuhadas attended the funeral prayer.
Following that, the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal of Courage was posthumously given to 117 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers, including six Pakistanis, who died while serving under the UN flag in the previous year.
Captain Abdelrazakh Hamit Bahar of Chad posthumously received the “Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage.” Major Winnet Zaharare of Zimbabwe received the Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award and was declared a champion of gender equality.
Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Munir Akram, received the awards.
“We are committed to helping the vulnerable communities affected by conflict and will continue to adapt to the changing environment and needs of the peacekeeping operations,” Akram said.
“We share the grief of their families and will never forget these heroes who won respect and recognition for their homeland,” he added.
Confirming the development, the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) issued a brief statement, saying:
“Pakistan has always played a pivotal role as a responsible member of the international community to help realize ideals of global peace and security through active participation in various UN Peacekeeping missions. Our Peacekeepers have always distinguished themselves in executing challenging peacekeeping tasks in conflict-prone areas through devotion and, if necessary, rendering supreme sacrifices,” the ISPR added.
