(1910 - July 27, 1948) He volunteered to be part of a battalion formed for the purpose of retaking Kashmir and was the Company Commander of the 2nd Battalion of the Punjab Regiment. His Regiment managed to inflict heavy casualties on strongly fortified Indian troops despite being under constant grenade and machine gun fire. He embraced martyrdom when he was shot in the chest while moving forward to cut through a barbed wire barrier.
Sarwar Shaheed College is named in his honour. He is the first recipient of the Nishan-e-Haider. Major Tufail Muhammad Shaheed (1914 - Aug 7, 1958) He was posted as the Company Commander of East Pakistan Rifles and launched an attack on Aug 7, 1958, to force Indian troops to withdraw from a village they had captured in the Lakshmipur region.
He was shot three times in the stomach yet he continued to fight and destroyed enemy posts with the use of grenades. He also killed an enemy commander who was inflicting casualties on his troops by crawling towards the enemy post and engaging the soldier in hand-to-hand combat before using a steel helmet to crush his face. He kept fighting with his troops until the enemy was repulsed and despite being fatally injured he called his junior officer and told him, "I have completed my duty, the enemy is on the run." He died from his wounds in hospital but not before he had forced the enemy to withdraw.
His native village was renamed Tufailabad in his honour. Major Raja Aziz Bhatti Shaheed (1928 - Sep 10, 1965) He was a distinguished officer throughout his career and won both the Sword of Honour and the Norman medal upon graduation from the military Academy in recognition for being the best in his batch. He was the Company Commander in the Burki area of Lahore and defended the BRB canal tirelessly with his troops for a period of five days despite incessant enemy firing from tanks and artillery guns.
He chose to stay with his platoon even when his commanding officer offered to send someone else in his place so that he could take some rest. Despite having fought tirelessly, he refused and said, "Do not recall me. I don't want to go back.
I will shed the last drop of my blood in the defence of my dear homeland." He had to place himself in an elevated position in order to direct his gunners and it was in this position that he embraced martyrdom after being hit by an enemy shell tank in the chest. Rashid Minhas Shaheed (Feb 17, 1951 - Aug 20, 1971) He is the youngest recipient of the Nishan-e-Haider.
On the afternoon of August 20, 1971, he was preparing to take off in a T-33 jet trainer when he was signaled to stop by a Bengali instructor pilot, Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman. Rahman had secretly defected and had been helping the Indians and the Mukti Bahini. He intended to hijack the plane and after joining Minhas in the cockpit, Rahman knocked out the young pilot and changed the planes course towards India.
However, Rashid Minhas struggled with him to wrest control of the aircraft and ultimately forced it to crash about 32 miles from the Indian border, thus killing both the passengers. One of the PAF bases and a main road in Karachi are named in his honour. Major Shabbir Shareef Shaheed (April 28, 1943 - Dec 6, 1971) He commanded a company of the 6 Frontier Force and successfully captured the Saboona Ridge from the Indians.
He led from the front in defending both the ridge and the accompanying Gurmakhera Bridge, repulsing numerous Indian attacks. The enemy was fearful of his leadership and panicked after having suffered repeated losses. To boost the confidence of his men, Indian Commander Narayan Singh challenged Shabbir Shareef to combat hand-to-hand.
The Pakistani Commander managed to kill him after a brief struggle and also recovered valuable documents from his pockets. On the morning of December 6, 1971, Major Shareef was manning a heavy artillery gun despite his right shoulder having been badly burnt by a grenade. He managed to destroy one tank and decided to keep firing at another that was lurking nearby instead of running to save his life.
He was martyred after being hit by a tank shell that threw him five feet up in the air. His commitment can be judged by his last words which were, "Don't lose the bridge." He is the most decorated soldier in Pakistan's history having been awarded the Nishan-e-Haider in addition to the Sword of Honour upon graduation from the military Academy and the Sitara-i-Jurrat for his performance in the 1965 war.
Sawar Muhammad Hussain Shaheed (June 18, 1949 - Dec 10, 1971) He was a driver in the 20th Lancers Armoured regiment and displayed unmatchable gallantry in delivering ammunition to frontline soldiers in the trenches despite being under direct enemy fire. He dreamed of participating in combat and would often take up machine gun duties whenever the chance arose. On December 10, 1971, he spotted enemy tanks approaching and directed firing on the tanks by the anti-tank crew of his own initiative.