Tazeen Akhtar
Pakistan Government Ministry of Information and many other government departments issued a wrong picture in the advertisements published on 06 Sep the Defense Day of Pakistan. The readers and viewers were bewildered on who is this new face among already known martyrs of Nishan e Haidar (‘Mark of the Lion’ or ‘Emblem of the Lion’)the highest military gallantry award.
The Nishan-e-Haidar is awarded posthumously and only to members of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It recognizes the highest acts of extraordinary bravery in the face of the enemy in air, land, or sea.
The known picture of Capt Raja Mohammad Sarwar Shaheed was not in the pictures ,instead an alien foto was included that raised concerns. The design of pictures was approved at the related quarters and circulated for publication. Ministry of Information released special supplements to commemorate the auspicious day but with wrong picture that left bad impression on the readers and viewers.
The most unfortunate thing was that no one in the main media houses had a vigilant eye to see this blunder neither anyone bothered to correct the picture timely. Everyone let it go as it was released from the Ministry of Information or other departments.
Here it is important to bring into the notice of the concerned that people of Pakistan are used to with the traditional pictures of the Nishan e Haidar Martyrs. The alteration and change again and again has created confusion. Earlier Pakistan had 8 Nishan e Haidar including Capt Sarwar who embraced martyrdom in 1948.
His picture (shared above) had been shared every where in last 75 years. Why it is necessary to change it. The new picture does not have any resemblance with the traditional and historical portrait of the martyr. Therefore it will be considered a wrong picture only that indicates extreme negligence on part of the concerned people.
These are the official ,historical,traditional pictures of the Nishan e Haidar martyrs till Kargil war of 1999. Every Pakistani recognizes the martyrs as they are seen in above set of pictures. Two additions were made after Kargil War in which Capt Karnal Sher Khan and Hawaldar Lalak Jaan were awarded Nishan e Haidar. Below is the set of pictures after these two additions. Here too the original picture of Capt Sarwar has been used. See on extreme left.
Another non serious matter in this regard is about Naik Saif Ali Janjua Shaheed. His picture is sometimes shared and sometimes ignored. This phenomenon also confuses the public , most of who do not know who is this soldier. His picture can be seen in the titled set of pictures with red Question mark.
Naik Saif Ali Janjua martyred on 26 October 1948 when Indian military landed in Kashmir to occupy the state. Saif was a Pakistani non-commissioned officer in the Azad Kashmir Regiment. He is the only recipient of the Hilal-e-Kashmir award which was later declared as the equivalent of the Nishan-e-Haidar.
He fought in the British Indian Army during the Second World War, and following the partition of India in 1947, he joined the Pakistan Army. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, he served as a platoon commander and was killed in action in the siege of Bhudha Khanna in October 1948.
On 14 March 1949, the Defence Council of Azad Jammu & Kashmir posthumously adorned him with the Hilal-e-Kashmir and on 30 November 1995 the Government of Pakistan declared his Hilal-e-Kashmir equivalent to Nishan-e-Haidar.
Sindh Gov’s Advertisement / Another Different
Our observation about Naik Saif Ali Janjua that he is Nishan e Haidar but most of Pakistnis do not know about him and that is only because the concerned have not taken it seriously. The pictures and details are not shared in a coordinated and composed manner. The example is the advertisement of Sindh government. It is not carrying the picture of Naik Saif Ali.
Now what is the result for a reader of the newspaper? Confusion – Nishan e Haidar are 11 or 10? Capt Sarwar’s picture? The latest is wrong or the one Pakistan used for last 75 years?
History
The Nishan-e-Haider was established by the Government of Pakistan and named after Hazrat Ali on 14 August 1947, the year that Pakistan became a republic. It was applied retrospectively from the date of Pakistan’s independence on 14 August 1947. It is Pakistan’s highest award and takes precedence over all military and civil awards. Of the eleven Nishan-e-Haider recipients to date, ten have been from the Army and one from the Air Force.
Although some consider it equivalent to the British Victoria Cross and the United States Medal of Honor, it is unique in that it has so far been awarded only posthumously. At one point in time the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan was asked why it was only awarded posthumously, his response reportedly that if it is awarded to a living person he may be involved in dishonourable conduct in the future which may disgrace the Award.
Pakistan in the World – July / Aug 2024
