Duty at 13,000 Feet
Not every soldier falls to a bullet. Some give their lives to the very conditions in which they serve — on frozen ridgelines and thin-aired peaks where the mountain itself is the adversary. Lieutenant Colonel Rashid Hassan Shaheed of 8 Light Commando Battalion was one such soldier. He was serving in Azad Kashmir at an altitude of 13,000 feet when a clot formed in his blood and travelled to his lungs, triggering a cardiac episode. In those rarefied heights, far from any hospital, his comrades fought to save him.
The Last Evacuation
He was evacuated from his post and brought to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology in Rawalpindi — the last hope. But the damage was too great. The very next morning, he departed for his eternal abode after multiple organ failure. It was 9 August 2017. He died in uniform, serving his country in the most unforgiving of conditions, and that is the part that matters: whether the cause is a bullet or a blizzard, a soldier who dies at his post dies a martyr’s death, and the nation honours him as such.
At 13,000 feet, the air holds far less oxygen than the plains, and the human body labours under conditions that punish the slightest weakness. To serve there is to wage a daily war against the elements, and Lt Col Rashid Hassan waged it without complaint until his body could give no more. He left behind his beloved wife, a son, and two daughters — children who carry a grief no words can soften, and a pride no one can take away: their husband and father gave his life in the service of Pakistan.
He Never Came Down
His comrades at that high post did everything they could — men who had shared the thin air and the merciless cold with him fought to save him, and the evacuation to Rawalpindi was their last hope. That he died the next morning, despite every effort, is a measure of how unforgiving those heights are. And for his wife, his son, and his two daughters, there is a pride no one can take away: he died where he stood, in uniform, serving Pakistan at 13,000 feet. The mountains he guarded now guard his memory — and the nation embraces his family with a gratitude that does not fade.
The Original Tribute
Today is 9th shahadat anniversary of Lt Col Rashid Hassan Shaheed.
Lt Col Rashid embraced martyrdom while performing his duties on August 9, 2017 and left behind a son and two daughters in the care of his beloved wife. Lt Col Rashid was serving in Azad Kashmir at an altitude of 13,000 ft. He developed a clot in his blood, which travelled to his lungs and he had a cardiac episode.
He was evacuated from the post and was brought to AFIC, Rawalpindi. The very next morning he left for the eternal abode due to multiple organ failure. He died in uniform serving his country in the most unfavourable of conditions.
Pride of the nation. Pride of 8LCB.
The Mountains Guard His Memory Now
His shahadat anniversary is observed every year on 9 August. Nine years have passed, and his name is remembered with pride by 8 Light Commando Battalion and by all who understand what it means to serve at 13,000 feet.
There is a special honour owed to those who fall to the conditions of their service. No enemy aimed at Lt Col Rashid Hassan — yet he died as surely in the line of duty as any soldier on a battlefield. The mountains do not distinguish, and neither does the nation’s gratitude. Lieutenant Colonel Rashid Hassan Shaheed stood his post where the air is thin and the cold is merciless, and he never came down. The mountains he guarded now guard his memory. Pakistan honours his devotion — and embraces his family with gratitude.
 died serving Pakistan at 13,000 feet in Azad Kashmir on 9 August 2017. Read his tribute.){kind=link}