Major
Shabbir Sharif Shaheed (born April 28, 1943 in Kunjah, Gujrat District)
completed his O Levels from St. Anthony's High School, Lahore and while he
was at Government College Lahore that he received a call to join Pakistan
Military Academy (PMA) Kakul. He was thus commissioned in Pakistan Army on
April 19, 1964 and after successfully completing his training (including a
receipt of Sword of Honor) he was posted to the 6th Battalion of the
Frontier Force Regiment, This historic battalion was the old 54th Sikhs, the
parent unit of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw MC, Gen K. S. Thimayya, Lt Gen
Attiqur Rahman MC, Lt Gen Khalid M Sheikh, Maj Gen Mian Hayauddin HJ, MBE,
MC and many other heroic figures of the Indian and Pakistan armies.
Incident Leading to Martyrdom (Shahadat)
It was on December 3, 1971, that he was commanding a company of 6 FF
Regiment near Sulemanki Headworks when he was assigned the task of capturing
the high bund (ground) overlooking the Gurmukh Khera and Beriwala villages
in the Sulemanki sector. These points were defended by more than a company
of Indian Army's Assam Regiment which was supported by a squadron of tanks.
To attain his objective, Major Sharif had to go through an enemy minefield
and swim across a 30-feet wide and 10 feet deep defensive canal, which he
accomplished under heavy artillery and automatic fire. Leading his company,
he launched a frontal attack and succeeded in driving the enemy out of its
fortified trenches by dusk on December 3. A total of 43 enemy soldiers were
killed in this well-nigh superhuman action, and another 28 were taken
prisoners. Moreover, four enemy tanks were also destroyed.
Recipients of Nishan-e-Haider نشان حیدر in Pakistan
Captain Muhammad Sarwar Shaheed (1910–July 27, 1948), 6/8 Punjab
Major Muhammad Tufail Shaheed (1914–August 7, 1958), 1 Battlion East Pakistan Rifles
Major Raja Aziz Bhatti Shaheed (1928–September 10, 1965), 17 Punjab
Major Muhammad Akram Shaheed (1938–1971), 4 FF
Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas Shaheed (1951–August 20, 1971), PAF Training Squadron
Major Shabbir Sharif Shaheed (1943–December 6, 1971), 6 FF
Sawar Muhammad Hussain Shaheed (1949–December 10, 1971), 20 Lancers
Lance Naik Muhammad Mahfuz Shaheed (1944–December 17, 1971), 15 Punjab
Captain Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed (1970–July 5, 1999), 12 NLI
Havaildar Lalak Jan Shaheed (1967–July 7, 1999), 12 NLI.
Naik Saif Ali Janjua Shaheed (25 April 1922 ,26th April 1948) . He was awarded Hilal-e-Kashmir, by the government of Azad Kashmir in the 1948 War. This award has since been made the equivalent of the Nishan-e-Haider and is considered as one.