Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

Jabron Hashmi (23 April 1982 – 1 July 2006) was a British soldier who was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

Sangin Sangin () is a town in Helmand province of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 20,000 people. It is located on in the valley of the Helmand River at altitude, to the north-east of Lashkargah. Sangin is notorious as one of the cent ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Early life and career

Jabron Hashmi was born in

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, and moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

with his family when he was 12. He joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in 2004. After completing his training for the Intelligence Corps at DISC,

Chicksands Chicksands is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Campton and Chicksands in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The village is on the River Flit and close to its parish village of Campton and the tow ...

, he was attached to 14 Signals Regiment, of the

Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

in January 2006 before being sent to

Afghanistan

Hashmi deployed to

Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...

, as part of the

3 PARA The 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (3 PARA), is a battalion sized formation of the British Army's Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom), Parachute Regiment and is a subordinate unit within 16 Air Assault Brigade. Roled as an Airborne forces, Ai ...

battlegroup. He was killed on 1 July 2006, in

, Afghanistan as a result of a rocket attack on a platoon house. His family described him as a "committed soldier. He was fiercely proud of being British." "He went to Afghanistan hoping to build bridges between the east and the west. He has always wanted to serve his country since he was a little boy. We were born just 40 minutes from the Afghan border so he was very excited to get back over there and experience the culture." "He combined his love of Islam with the love of Britain and his main reason for joining the army was to make a difference. He certainly did that. Jabron was a cheeky confident and outgoing young man. He was very caring towards his family and friends and a very caring person." Hashmi's commanding officer said: "Enthusiastic, confident and immensely popular, Lance Corporal Hashmi displayed all the qualities of a first class soldier. His enthusiasm for the role he had been given was simply outstanding. He was brimming with confidence and hugely keen to take part in all the training prior to the operation. Once deployed in Helmand Province, his skills proved vital in support of the 3 PARA battlegroup, providing protection for his comrades in the highly demanding working conditions of southern Afghanistan. A fine young man, his sad loss will be felt by us all."

Response within Muslim community

The

Muslim Council of Britain The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is an umbrella body of Muslim organisations in the United Kingdom, with over 500 affiliated mosques and organisations. It was formed in 1994 in response to British government's expressed wish for a single r ...

(MCB) paid tribute to L/Cpl Hashmi saying that although the Afghan conflict was unpopular with many Muslims, soldiers could not pick and choose their battles. Inayat Bunglawala, the MCB spokesperson said, "This is far from the first time Muslims have given their lives in the service of this country, many did so in the two World Wars, but in recent years they have been under-represented in the Army."

References

"Corporal Peter Thorpe and Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi killed in Afghanistan"
''Ministry of Defence:Defence News''

(after the plot to kidnap and behead a Muslim soldier)

'' The Telegraph''

''The Telegraph''
Muslim soldier's death 'unlawful'
''BBC News

''The Telegraph''

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hashmi, Jabron 1982 births 2006 deaths People from Peshawar Pakistani emigrants to the United Kingdom Intelligence Corps soldiers British Muslims British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) British military personnel killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) British military personnel of Pakistani descent

Early life and career

Afghanistan

Response within Muslim community

See also

References

Notes