Rawalpindi: Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, paid tribute to Major Syed Moiz Abbas Shah, who was killed in a clash with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants near the Pak-Afghan border in South Waziristan.
Munir attended the funeral prayer of the fallen officer at Chaklala Garrison in Rawalpindi, where he recognised Major Shah’s “ultimate sacrifice” for the nation.
“The entire nation stands united in grief and pride, saluting his ultimate sacrifice for the defence of the country. We owe an eternal debt to our martyrs. The blood of our Shuhada is the foundation of our nation’s strength,” said Munir, as quoted by The Express Tribune.
Legacy of Major Syed Moiz Abbas Shah
Major Shah was a part of the Pakistan Army’s elite Special Services Group (SSG) and was commissioned in 2011. He gained prominence for being the officer who claimed the capture of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in 2019, following an aerial dogfight after the Balakot airstrike.
He was killed in Sararogha, South Waziristan, during an operation in which 11 TTP militants were neutralised by the Pakistan Army. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) described him as someone who “fought bravely in the face of resistance and ultimately laid down his life in the line of duty, upholding the highest traditions of bravery, sacrifice, and patriotism.”
Flashback: Capture of Abhinandan Varthaman
The 2019 dogfight occurred a day after the Indian Air Force’s Balakot airstrike on February 26, targeting a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan responded with airstrikes the next day, leading to a 10-minute aerial engagement.
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, flying a MiG-21 Bison, reportedly shot down a Pakistani F-16 before his own aircraft was downed over Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). He was captured by Pakistani forces and held for nearly 60 hours before being released on March 1, 2019, in what was seen as a goodwill gesture by Pakistan.
Major Shah was among the key officers involved in announcing and processing his capture, a moment widely circulated in media at the time.