COAS Qamar Bajwa offers funeral prayers of Lt Gen Sarfraz Ali: ISPR

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Wednesday reached Quetta and attended the funeral prayers of Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali and Brigadier Muhammad Khalid at Quetta Garrison, ARY NEWS reported quoting Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).

According to the ISPR, Governor Balochistan Mir Jan Muhammad Jamali, Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, provincial ministers and a large number of civil and military officials including relatives of Shuhada attended the funeral.

COAS Qamar Javed Bajwa also visited the families of martyred Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali and Brigadier Muhammad Khalid who embraced martyrdom in the Lasbela helicopter crash and family of martyred Lieutenant Colonel Laiq Baig Mirza who embraced martyrdom in Ziarat incident.

The bodies of Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali and Brigadier Muhammad Khalid have been moved to Rawalpindi, the military’s media wing said, adding that the funeral prayers of Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali, Major General Amjad Hanif and Brigadier Muhammad Khalid will be offered at Army Graveyard Rawalpindi at 05:30 pm today.

The martyrs will later be buried with full military honours.

DG ISPR, Major General Babar Iftikhar on Tuesday confirmed the news that all the six officers and soldiers including Corps Commander Southern Command, Lt General Sarfraz Ali embraced martyrdom.

He said the unfortunate accident occurred due to bad weather as per initial investigations.

A Pakistan Army aviation helicopter with important personalities aboard, including Commander 12 Corps Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali went missing in Balochistan’s Lasbela district.

According to the military’s media wing, the military helicopter was on a flood relief operation in Lasbela.

“A Pakistan army aviation helicopter which was on flood relief operations in Lasbela, Balochistan lost contact with ATC,” the ISPR had tweeted.