Havaldar Havildar or havaldar ( Hindustani: or (Devanagari), (Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian and Pakistani armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry and armoured units, where the equivalent is daffadar. Like a British serge ...

Lalak Jan () (1 April 1967 – 7 July 1999) was a Pakistani

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

and posthumous recipient of Pakistan's highest military 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 ...

. Belonging to the

Northern Light Infantry The Northern Light Infantry Regiment (NLI) is a light infantry regiment in the Pakistan Army, based and currently headquartered in Gilgit, Pakistan. Along with other forces of the Pakistani military, the NLI has the primary responsibility of con ...

regiment 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 ...

, he was the 11th and most recent recipient of the Nishan-e-Haider and was awarded for his bravery and gallant actions 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 he was killed in action.

Early life

Lalak Jan was born on 1 April 1967 in Yasin, in the Gupis-Yasin District of

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

. After completing his education, he joined the

on 10 December 1984 and eventually rose to the rank of

Death

Lalak Jan was serving in the

(NLI) when the

began. He volunteered for deployment on the front lines in May 1999. Later that year, his post came under numerous attacks from the Indian Army, which he successfully repelled. He was killed on 7 July 1999 after succumbing to serious injuries from heavy shelling on his position by Indian forces. Pakistan had earlier refused to even claim the dead bodies of their soldiers, instead stating that they were mujahideen. It was after intense pressure from the India army that the Pakistani Armed Forces had to accept the dead bodies of their own soldiers. According to the official statement:

He was serving in Northern Light Infantry Regiment when skirmishes broke out in Kargil in 1999. Havildar Lalak Jan of the Northern Light Infantry Regiment fought from the forefront to thwart heavy Indian attacks. He volunteered himself to be deployed on the front positions located at the jagged peak in May 1999. Havildar Lalak Jan repulsed back many aggressive ventures by the enemy and imposed colossal losses on them. On 7 July 1999, Havildar Lalak Jan sustained serious injuries as enemies pounded the area with heavy mortar shells. But despite being injured, he retained his position and frustrated the Indian assault. Due to severe injuries, he embraced martyrdom and was graciously awarded the
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 ...
for his bravery and his will to attack and defeat the enemy at all costs.

Burial

Lalak Jan was buried in his hometown, Hundur, in the Yasin Valley, Gupis-Yasin District,

. Each year, officials from the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

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 ...

, and local residents visit his tomb to offer prayers and lay wreaths.

Awards and decorations

The

awarded him the

, the country's highest honour for extraordinary gallantry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jan, Lalak 1967 births 1999 deaths Recipients of Nishan-e-Haider People from Gilgit-Baltistan People of the Kargil War Pakistani military personnel killed in action