ON a fine Sunday morning, Oct 15, Capt Husnain was in the FC Wing Headquarters, Kurram Agency. He was making a video call to his young wife and one-and-a-half-year-old son, who were in Islamabad.

He received information on the wireless that a convoy from his wing had been hit by an improvised explosive device (IED); he told his wife that he had to be somewhere and would be back by the evening.

He quickly put his gear on, and rushed to the site with the Quick Reaction Force. There, he saw that two IED blasts had already occurred and more might be imminent on the uneven ground. One rescue party had already been hit by an IED before his arrival.

Seeing bodies on the ground and some of his soldiers lying bleeding, he told his junior commissioned officer ( (JCO) that he was going to rescue them. The JCO tried to stop him, saying, “Sir, don’t go, there might be more IEDs.” But the officer replied, “I cannot stand by when these men are injured.”

Capt Husnain rescued two of his soldiers and then went in to rescue a third when the blast blew him to pieces. The last thing that flashed before his eyes was probably the face of his young son and the anxiousness in his wife’s eyes.

Another soldier, like many before him, has been blown away by the winds of time; only a few are left behind to mourn him. His child will only have a few pictures of his brave father, and his widow will silence tears for the rest of her life.

What motivated him to plunge into the valley of death? Perhaps the Pakistan Army’s honour code, that reads:

The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first always and every time.

The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next.

Your own ease, comfort and safety come last always and every time.

Capt Husnain, we are proud of you; nay, the whole nation is proud of you.

Col (r) Riaz Jafri

Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2017