Maj Zaka of 42nd Entry burried under snow in Gyari
Friday, 20 April 2012 17:20
One hundred and thirty-nine brave Pakistanis, 124 of whom were members of the Pakistani army, lie buried under 80 feet of snow on the Siachen Glacier after an avalanche crashed down on a battalion headquarters at Gyari near Skardu on Saturday, 7th April, 2012. The massive avalanche which hit before dawn while the victims were sleeping was 1,000 meters long and 25 meters wide. Among these heroes is one of our very own, an Abdalian - PA 39548 Maj. Zaka ul Haq from the 42 Entry (Iqbal Wing). He is the elder brother of Imtiaz ul Haq of 49th Entry (Haider Wing).
The Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram Mountain Range is the world’s highest battleground at more than 20,000 feet, where Pakistani and Indian soldiers are facing each other since 1984. The terrain is extremely inhospitable and the temperatures can plunge as low as minus 150 degrees C. More soldiers die from cold and bad weather, blizzards and the icy winds than in fighting. There has not been much fighting since Pakistan and India declared a ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, where the Siachen Glacier is.
On his facebook page, Zaka spoke of his philosophy through his favourite quotation "hope is a good thing,may be the best of things: and good things never die...". The Abdalian community joins the whole nation in prayers for the safety of all 139 people trapped under snow. Afterall, HOPE is a good thing, maybe the best of things, in some situations. Zaka and the rest of 138 people: we will not think of you as dead, but instead as Shaheeds if we ever hear such news. Our hope ofcourse is, for a miracle to happen, so we may call you Ghazis.