Sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...

Maqbool Hussain (c. 1940 — 28 August 2018) was a Pakistani soldier who was well known for his capture and brutal imprisonment for four decades in

Indian military The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by th ...

jails when he was wounded during the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

and subsequently taken prisoner by Indian troops.

Capture in 1965 & subsequent torture

Following Hussain's capture during the war, the Indians did not register his legal status as a prisoner of war (POW), stripping him of certain rights that he would otherwise be entitled to by international law. While in the custody of Indian forces, Hussain was notoriously subjected to severe

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

by interrogators and remained defiant when he was demanded to give up any information he knew to jeopardize

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

's security. He was regularly harassed by his captors and put under pressure to insult his nation with various phrases such as "''Pākistān Murdābād''" ( – lit: " Death to Pakistan"), to which he was known to actively respond with "''Pākistān Zindābād''" ( – lit: " Long Live Pakistan"). His persistent refusal to oblige with his Indian captors angered them, and they proceeded to cut out Hussain's

tongue The tongue is a muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surfa ...

and rip his

fingernails A nail is a claw-like plate found at the tip of the fingers and toes on most primates. Nails correspond to the claws found in other animals. Fingernails and toenails are made of a tough protective protein called alpha-keratin, which is a polymer. ...

off. Over the next 40 years, Hussain remained in an Indian prison, where he would regularly write "Long Live Pakistan" on the walls of his cell with his

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

Return to Pakistan

He was released on 17 September 2005 during a prisoner exchange between

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and Pakistan at the Wagah-Attari border crossing. Upon his return to Pakistan, Hussain had no family left to go to, and his mental and physical state had reduced to the point where he would only respond with his rank and military service number whenever he was asked any questions by passersby. Hussain managed to find his way to a Pakistan Army garrison in

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...

and repeatedly wrote down his rank and service number on a piece of paper. After much inquiry, Hussain's service in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was discovered and full accommodations began to be made by the military for him.

Awards

On 23 March 2009, Sepoy Maqbool Hussain of the

Azad Kashmir Regiment The Azad Kashmir Regiment, also known as AK Regt, is one of the six infantry regiments in the Pakistan Army. The regiment takes its name from Azad Kashmir, which is the Pakistani-administered territory of the Kashmir region. As per the order of ...

was awarded the

Sitara-e-Jurat Sitara-e-Jurat (, Star of Courage) is the third highest military award of Pakistan. It was established in 1957 after Pakistan became a republic; however, it was instituted retrospectively back to 1947. It is awarded for Courage, gallantry or dist ...

for his gallantry during the war.

Death

Hussain died on August 28, 2018 in the city of

Attock Attock ( Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st larg ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. He was a native of

Tarar Khel Tarar Khal ( ur, ) (also spelled Tarar Khel, Tararkhel and Tararkhal) is a Tehsil and tourist attraction (Banjusa lake, diyar) in Sudhanoti District of Pakistan-protected Azad Kashmir, which is disputed with India. It is the headquarters of Teh ...

Sudhanoti District The Sudhanoti District (also spelled Sudhanuti District) ( ur, ), meaning the "heartland of Sudhans" or "Sudhan heartland"), is one of the 10 districts of Pakistan's dependent territory of Azad Kashmir. The Sudhanoti District is bounded on the ...

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

In popular culture

The

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 ...

' media wing, the ISPR and Interflow Communications Limited co-produced a drama series named '' Sipahi Maqbool Hussain'' that aired during the month of April 2008.

References

External links

COAS Kayani paying tribute to Maqbool HussainFair & Square: To Sepoy Maqbool Hussain with loveb y Mian Saifur Rehman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussain, Maqbool 1940s births 2018 deaths Pakistani people imprisoned abroad Recipients of Sitara-e-Jurat People from Sudhanoti District Military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Year of birth missing 20th-century Pakistani military personnel Pakistani prisoners of war