Major Syed Moiz Abbas Shah, 37, was killed on Tuesday in a clash with the Taliban militants in the Sararogha area of South Waziristan near the Afghan border, according to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the army
Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman was taken into Pakistani custody after his jet was shot down in a dogfight in 2019. File pic
An officer of the Pakistan Army's Special Services Group (SSG), who had claimed to have captured Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman after his jet was shot down in a dogfight in 2019, has been killed by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, news agency PTI reported, quoting Pakistani sources.
Thirty-seven-year-old Major Syed Moiz Abbas Shah was killed on Tuesday during a clash with Taliban militants in the Sararogha area of South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, stated the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army.
The militants also killed Lance Naik Jibran Ullah, 27 from the Pakistan Army, the statement added.
Eleven TTP militants were also killed in the clash while seven others were wounded, PTI reported.
Major Shah’s funeral prayer was offered at Chaklala Garrison, Rawalpindi, and was attended by Pakistan Army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.
"Major Syed Moiz Abbas 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," the ISPR statement quoted Munir as saying.
Following the funeral, his body was flown to his hometown of Chakwal in Punjab, where he was laid to rest with full military honours.
Commissioned into the Pakistani Army in 2011, Major Moiz later joined the Special Services Group (SSG) and had been serving in the volatile Waziristan region at the time of his death, reported PTI.
Following his death, it was learnt that Major Shah was the officer who had captured Abhinandan Varthaman in 2019 and saved him from being lynched by a mob, according to local media reports.
An old clip of an interview with Moiz, who was a Captain at the time, aired on Geo TV, shows him recounting the details of his role in capturing Abhinandan.
TTP, also known as the Pakistan Taliban, was formed in 2007 as an umbrella group of several militant outfits. Its primary goal is to impose a strict interpretation of Islam across Pakistan.
Believed to have close ties with al-Qaeda, the TTP has been blamed for numerous deadly attacks across the country, including the 2009 assault on army headquarters, attacks on military bases, and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.
The Pakistan government has labelled the TTP as "Fitna al-Khawarij", a reference to a violent group from early Islamic history.
(With PTI inputs)
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