SKARDU: The body of another martyred army officer has been unearthed from underneath tonnes of snow in Gyari sector, where a massive avalanche had swept over a battalion of Pakistani troops camped there on April 7, Geo News reported.
This latest breakthrough brings the total tally of the martyrs reclaimed from the snowslide so far to seven.
The body has been identified as of Lt Colonel Tanveer-ul-Hassan Shaheed.
He was the Commander of the “6 Northern Light Infantry (NLI) Battalion.
Earlier on Tuesday, rescuers had recovered the bodies of two more martyrs from the avalanche site.
The martyrs were identified as Sepoy Mohammad Akbar and Sepoy Mohammad Ali.
Before the abovementioned discoveris, the body of an army official, Major Zaka-ul-Haq was also dug out from under the snow along with other martyrs.
It may be mentioned that 139 soldiers, including some civilians of 6 Northern Light Infantry Battalion, were buried under a huge snow slide on April 7 in Gayari sector near Skardu.
The Pakistan Army had declared all the victims of Gayari as ‘Shuhada’ (martyrs). Aspects related to socio-religious dimensions / implications, requirements to initiate the process of documentation, and reduction of the sufferings of the bereaved families made the Army to take such a step.
The Northern Light Infantry (NLI) is a Light Infantry Regiment of the Pakistan Army. Headquartered in Gilgit, the capital of Northern Areas, Pakistan, it is the main force protecting the strategically important northern areas of Pakistan. The majority of this regiment's personnel come from native Gilgitis, Baltis, Brushos, Wakhis and Khowars.
It was formed in 1971 with the amalgamation of the Northern Scouts along with its Scout wings: the Karakoram Scouts, Northern Scouts and Gilgit Scouts. The Northern Light Infantry was made a regular regiment of the Pakistan army after its performance in the Kargil War in 1999; prior to this it was a paramilitary force.
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