Havaldar Lalak Jan ( ur, ) (April 1967 – July 1999) was a soldier of

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

belonging to

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. He was killed in action during the

Kargil war The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

. For his bravery, he was awarded Pakistan's highest military gallantry award,

Nishan-e-Haider Nishan-e-Haider (NH; ), is the highest military gallantry award of Pakistan. The Nishan-e-Haider is awarded posthumously and only to members of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It recognises the highest acts of extraordinary bravery in the face of ...

. Lalak Jan hailed from

Yasin Valley Yasin ( ur, ''Yāsīn''), also known as Babaye-i-Yasen () or Worshigum ( khw, ''Worśigūm''), is a high mountain valley in the Hindu Kush mountains, in the northern part of Gupis-Yasin District in the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. ...

, village name Hundur, in

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

which is a province of Pakistan.

Early life

Lalak Jan was born on 1 April 1967 at Yasin, in the

Gupis-Yasin District The Gupis-Yasin District ( ur, ) is the westernmost district of the 14 districts of Pakistan-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan. The Gupis-Yasin District was created in 2019 from the Gupis Tehsil and the Yasin Tehsil, which were the two ...

, of

. After completing his education, he joined the

on 10 December 1984 and eventually rose up to rank of

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

Death

Lalak Jan was serving in the

(NLI) when the

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

started. He volunteered to be deployed on the front lines in May 1999. In late 1999, his post came under a number of attacks from the Indian Army but he successfully managed to repulse them. He was killed on 7 July 1999 after he sustained serious injuries from the heavy mortar pounding on his positions by the Indian Army. 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; ), is the highest military gallantry award of Pakistan. The Nishan-e-Haider is awarded posthumously and only to members of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It recognises the highest acts of extraordinary bravery in the face of ...
for his bravery and his will to attack and defeat the enemy at all costs.

Buried

Lalak Jan was buried in his native town in Hundur,

, in the

, of

. Every year officials from

Pakistani Government The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territories, ...

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 consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...

and other locals visit the tomb to offer prayer and lay floral wreath.

Awards and decorations

The

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

awarded him

, the country's highest award 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