Nobody Ordered Him. He Volunteered.
Major Muhammad Ehsan Shaheed did not wait to be ordered into danger. An officer of the 99th PMA Long Course, commissioned into 36 Frontier Force Regiment, he volunteered to take over as company commander of an Armoured Personnel Carrier company with 15 Frontier Force — to join the Swat operations in 2008. To leave one’s own battalion to command another’s company in combat is the mark of an officer who puts the mission above everything. It was a decision that said everything about the man.
Shahadat at Kanju
On 23 August 2008, Major Muhammad Ehsan Shaheed embraced shahadat during Operation Rah-e-Rast at Kanju, Swat. He fell alongside Lieutenant Saleem Anjum Shaheed of the 115th PMA Long Course, ex 44 SP Artillery — an officer and a young lieutenant giving their lives together on the same ground. The artillery and the infantry fight together, and at Kanju they fell together.
The year 2008 was when the battle for Swat intensified — the opening phase of what would become Operation Rah-e-Rast. Terrorists had dug into the valley, and the Army was moving in to root them out. An APC company in the close valleys of Swat was a dangerous command: armoured vehicles in restricted terrain, moving against an enemy that knew every nullah. Major Ehsan asked for that command himself — and he led it until 23 August 2008.
The Volunteer
There is a special honour in volunteering. Orders send men into danger; volunteers walk into it of their own will. In 2008, when the battle for Swat intensified, Major Muhammad Ehsan did not wait to be assigned — he asked to take over an APC company with 15 Frontier Force and join the fight. To leave one’s own battalion to command another’s company in combat is the mark of an officer who puts the mission above everything. He asked for the hardest task. He led it until 23 August 2008.
At Kanju, he fell alongside Lieutenant Saleem Anjum of 44 SP Artillery — the infantry and the artillery, fighting together and falling together, as they have in every war. Operation Rah-e-Rast was the campaign that freed Swat, and the valley is free today because officers like Major Ehsan volunteered for its hardest tasks and paid for them with their lives. Eighteen years on, the 99th Long Course still speaks his name with pride. He volunteered. He led. He gave everything. Pakistan remembers them both — today and always.
The Original Tribute
Today is 18th shahadat anniversary of Major Muhammad Ehsan Shaheed (99L/C ex 36FF), along with Lt Saleem Anjum Shaheed (115L/C/29 Grad ex 44SP Arty).
Major Ehsan volunteered to take the task as company commander with 15 FF unit in an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) company to join the Swat operations in 2008.
Major Muhammad Ehsan Shaheed embraced shahadat on 23 August 2008 in Operation Rah-e-Rast, Kanju (Swat), along with Lt Saleem Anjum Shaheed.
He Asked for the Hardest Mission
Their shahadat anniversary is observed every year on 23 August. Eighteen years have passed, and Major Muhammad Ehsan Shaheed is remembered as the pride of the nation and the pride of the 99th Long Course — an officer who chose the hardest path without being asked.
There is a special honour in volunteering. Orders send men into danger; volunteers walk into it of their own will. Operation Rah-e-Rast was the campaign that freed Swat, and the valley is free today because officers like Major Ehsan volunteered for its hardest tasks and paid for them with their lives. He volunteered. He led. He gave everything at Kanju. Eighteen years on, the 99th Long Course still speaks his name with pride — and Pakistan remembers them both, today and always.
 embraced shahadat on 23 August 2008 in Operation Rah-e-Rast at Kanju, Swat. Read more.){kind=link}