Karnal Sher Khan NH (1 January 1970 – 5 July 1999) was a Pakistani military officer and the tenth recipient of Pakistan's highest military gallantry award,

Nishan-e-Haider Nishan-e-Haider (NH; or 'Emblem of the Lion') is the highest military gallantry award of Pakistan. The Nishan-e-Haider is awarded only to members of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It recognises the highest acts of extraordinary bravery in the f ...

. He was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the 27th

Sindh Regiment The Sindh Regiment (, ) (previously Sind Regiment) is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army established on 1 July 1980. The regiment takes its name from Sindh province in southern Pakistan. Prior to its formation there had been no regiment in ...

of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

and later was posted to 12th NLI Regiment during the

Kargil War The Kargil War, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Ladakh, then part of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (state), Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC). In In ...

, where was later

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, ...

during the conflict. For his actions during the Kargil War, he was awarded the Nishan-e-Haider. His name is the localised form of the rank

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Early life

Karnal Sher Khan was born on 1 January 1970 into the

Yusufzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai (, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ), or Yusufzai Afghans historically, are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. They are natively based in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( Malakand, Dir, Swat, Shangl ...

tribe of

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...

of Naway Kallay village (now Karnal Sher Khan Kallay village), located in

Swabi Swabi (; ) is a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located near the bank of the Indus River. It is the 73rd largest city of Pakistan and eighth largest in the province in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Swabi is also a major city in ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

. His father's name was Hazar Khan. He was the youngest of two brothers and two sisters and his mother died when he was 6 years old which left him to be raised by his father. Khan completed his intermediate education at a government postgraduate college in Swabi and later joined

Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consists of three uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are backe ...

. Throughout his life, Khan cared about the poor people in his area and spent most part of his salary helping them.Nation observes 22nd anniversary of Kargil War hero Capt Karnal Sher Khan
Express Tribune. 5 July 2021.

Military career

After completing his intermediate education, Khan first joined

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

(PAF) as an

Airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred to as a soldier in other definitions. As a military rank designat ...

in 1989, in Korangi he was in the Iqbal wing, he was roommate and a close friend of sqn\ldr Retd. M Mushtaq (who later served in PAF for 35 year as flight engineer ).Later Capt Karnal Sher Khan joined Pakistan Army as a commissioned officer in 1992. On 14 October 1994, Khan was commissioned in the 27th

of Pakistan army. During the

, Khan was deployed at the Gultari region. He along with his fellow soldiers established five strategic posts at height of 17,000 feet at Gultari.

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

launched eight attacks on their position to capture the strategic posts. However, Khan and his men were able to defend those strategic posts. On 5 July 1999, the Indian army launched another attack and surrounded his posts with two battalions. With heavy mortar fire, the Indian Army captured one of his posts. Khan personally led a successful counter-attack and was able to re-capture the lost post. Despite shortage of ammunition and men, Khan was successful in forcing the enemy to retreat. However, during the battle he was hit by machine gun fire and was killed in action.

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

M. P. S. Bajwa was impressed by the actions of Captain Khan and wrote to the government of Pakistan citing the bravery of the young officer. Bajwa wrote a citation for Khan and placed it in his pocket while returning his body to the Pakistani officials. Khan's actions during the war were also vouched by his fellow Pakistani soldiers and Khan was posthumously awarded Pakistan's highest military honour, the

. The Pakistani Armed Forces initially disowned the bodies of Karnal Sher Khan and other soldiers as they had claimed the soldiers to be mujahideen. It was under repeated requests from India that the Pakistani army accepted the bodies of their soldiers.

Awards and decorations

Legacy

Karnal Sher Khan's home town Naway Kallay was renamed as Karnal Sher Khan Kallay. A

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

was established in his hometown where his body lays in rest. Every year officials from the Pakistani Government and

and other locals visit the tomb to offer prayer. A cadet college has been named after him in the village Ismaila near the native town of Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed ( NH). It is located on the main Mardan-Swabi Road, approximately midway between Mardan (23 km) and

(25 km). It can also be accessed from Grand Trunk Road through Nowshera-Mardan and from Swabi or Rashakai interchange on the Motorway (M1). Interchange connecting near Mardan on M1 that intersects M1 with origin of M16 heading towards

Swat A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

valley has also been named after Sher Khan as Karnal Sher Khan Interchange. Similarly the toll plaza at the termination of southern end of M16 are also given name of Sher Khan as Karnal Sher Khan Toll Plaza. A road in the F-11 sector of Pakistan's capital city

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

is named after him. Many roads are named after him in military cantonments across the country most notably in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

and Rawalpindi Cantonments. Moreover, government textbooks of Pakistan Studies also mention valiant tales of Karnal Sher Khan as part of their academic curriculum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sher Khan, Karnal 1970 births 1999 deaths Recipients of Nishan-e-Haider People from Swabi District People of the Kargil War Pakistan Army officers Pakistani military personnel killed in action Pashtun people

Early life

Military career

Awards and decorations

Legacy

See also

References