THE decision by the Pakistan Army to mark April 30 as Yaum-i-Shuhada was highly commendable. Our army has made great sacrifices to preserve our motherland.

The blood of hundreds of young men should become a guiding light for us Pakistanis to navigate through dark times of anguish. If these young men could offer their very best and even dear lives to serve Pakistan in time of need, so could each one of us in every walk of life.

If we can't serve Pakistan with the G-3 rifle, we could still do tremendous service to our nation by being disciplined and law-abiding civilians, by obeying traffic rules, by not littering and spitting indiscriminately, and by simply 'doing unto others as we would wish them do unto us'.

The service and sacrifice of our soldiers are selfless; they never get to wear their decorations on their uniform. We must draw inspiration from their deeds in our daily lives.

The new generation of our soldiers proved in 2009 that if men like Maj Aziz Bhatti Shaheed, Brig A.R. Shami Shaheed, Maj Shabbir Sharif Shaheed, Jawan Sawaar Mohammad Hussain Shaheed, Capt Sher Khan Shaheed and Hav Lalak Jan Shaheed were icons from 1965, 1971 and 1999 respectively, the Jawans, JCOs and officers even today belong to the same breed of warriors guarding Pakistan.

Memories of the hundreds of martyrs of 2009, including the likes of Lieutenants Faiz Sultan, Faraz Malik, Safiullah Baloch, Captains Jonaid Khan, Najam Riaz, Meiraj, Bilal Zafar, Omerzeb, Majors Abid Majeed, Hafiz Atiq, and even relatively senior officers like Colonels Anwar, Wasim, Haroon, Brigadiers Moin, Anwar and Hussain Abbas shall remain evergreen.

These men in uniform were sons, brothers, husbands and fathers but, above all, they were sons of Pakistan and proudly upheld the obligation to Pakistan above and beyond their personal desires, responsibilities and relationships.

Let's pray that the families and loved ones of these heroes find peace, happiness and prosperity in this world and the Hereafter.

We owe them this much to make sure that Pakistan for which their loved ones shed their blood prospers forever' God bless Pakistan.
Long live Pakistan Army.

HARIS MASOOD ZUBERI
Karachi