KARACHI: Sepoy Israr Mohammad, who was shot while attempting to save the head of mission during the attack on the Pakistani embassy in Kabul, has said he would have “sacrificed his life” to protect the official.

In a video posted on Twitter, Sepoy Mohammad who is undergoing treatment in Pakistan said he belonged to the Special Services Group of the army and was posted on the security of Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul in April.

According to Sepoy Mohammad, the incident took place on Friday after Head of Mission Ubaidur Rehman Nizamani had offered Asar prayers.

“After the ambassador offered prayers, we were taking a walk when someone opened fire. I was almost five metres behind ambassador sahib and I jumped on him and knocked him down to shield him,” he said in a video recorded from his hospital bed.

SSG commando Israr Mohammad was injured during attack on embassy in Kabul

According to the injured sepoy, he received a bullet in the chest when he was trying to pick up the head of mission.

He added that after being shot, he had put one hand on the wound and dragged Mr Nizamani to safety with his other hand.

Shortly after, he said he was shot in the leg and lost consciousness as other security personnel arrived at the scene.

“I was posted to protect the ambassador and wouldn’t have been worried even if I had to sacrifice my life,” he said, adding that the “important thing” was to

protect the head of mission and he did that.

In his tweet, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Kabul, Mansoor Ahmad Khan hailed the bravery of the injured sepoy.

“Proud of Israr for his bravery and devotion to duty. I am also thankful to him personally and the entire SSG team who were protecting me when I was serving as Ambassador in Kabul. Salam to these great sons of Pakistan,” he tweeted.

The attack on Pakistan’s embassy took place on Friday in Kabul’s Kart-i-Parwan neighbourhood which the Foreign Office had described as an “assassination attempt” on the life of Mr Nizamani.

Sepoy Muhammad, who got ‘critically injured’, was shifted to a hospital. Later, he was moved to Peshawar via helicopter.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2022