This is not only the story of a brave commando. It is the story of a father’s love so deep that it outlived his son.
Major Shujaat Hussain Shaheed — 126 Long Course, 30 Baloch Regiment, 4 Commando Battalion, Special Services Group — embraced martyrdom on 12 April 2022. Two years later, on 7 October 2024, his father Talib Hussain passed away too. His second death anniversary was observed in October 2026.
What happened in between is one of the most moving stories the Pakistan Army’s book of remembrance holds.
A Zarrar Commando
Major Shujaat served in the SSG’s elite ranks, where only the toughest soldiers earn their place. As a Zarrar commando — the Army’s dedicated counter-terrorism unit, called upon when the stakes are highest — he belonged to a brotherhood whose missions are among the most dangerous in the armed forces. Those who served alongside him knew him as a courageous officer who led from the front.
He laid down his life in the line of duty on 12 April 2022.
A Father’s Vigil
After his son’s shahadat, Talib Hussain moved permanently to his native village — because the soil there held the piece of his heart that countless prayers had once asked God for. He had always treated his son as a special gift and trust from Allah, raising him with the finest upbringing he could give.
Whenever Major Shujaat returned home on leave, father and son would sit together for hours, talking alone. The Major shared details of his upcoming operations with his father and sought his counsel — and those conversations remained a secret between the two of them. He wrote his father’s advice in his diary and carried it with him everywhere.
As a Zarrar commando, Major Shujaat would sometimes be out of contact for days. Before leaving, he would always tell his father: “I will be in the operation, but your prayers will be with me, and they will never let a single shot of mine miss.”
Talib Hussain would then take up his prayer beads through the last hours of the night, praying until sunrise — for his son, for the Army, for Pakistan. After the shahadat, his answer to any request for prayer was always the same: “My prayer is only and only for Shujaat.”
On his side table stood a photograph of Major Shujaat Hussain Shaheed. Every morning on waking, he would kiss his son’s photograph and salute him. Every night before sleeping, he would kiss it again and bid him Allah Hafiz.
On his last night, he followed the ritual as always. Kissed the photograph. Said Allah Hafiz. Lay down. Moments later, death came to him — and within moments, he was reunited with his beloved son. As his eyes closed, there was a smile on his face: the smile that used to come only when he saw Shujaat.
The Original Tribute
The tribute shared on the second anniversary of Talib Hussain’s passing reads:
Today is 2nd death anniversary of the father of Maj Shujaat Hussain Shaheed (126L/C ex 30BR/4CDO Bn SSG), Mr Talib Hussain. Maj Shujaat embraced martyrdom on 12 April 2022; his father died on 07 October 2024. After the shahadat the father settled in his native village, his only prayer left being for Shujaat. The son’s photograph stood on his side table, kissed every morning and night — until the last night, when he kissed it, said Allah Hafiz, and joined his beloved son with a smile on his face.
Two Anniversaries, One Bond
Every year, 12 April marks the shahadat anniversary of Major Shujaat Hussain Shaheed. And 7 October now marks the death anniversary of the father who could not live long without him. Father and son are remembered together — as they lived: bound by love, faith, and sacrifice.
This story moves everyone who hears it because it is not only a war story. It is a love story. And love stories outlast war stories. A father kissing his son’s photograph every morning and every night for two years — and dying with a smile after the last kiss. That belongs to something every human heart recognises.
It also honours the families behind the uniform. Behind every commando out of contact for days, someone holds prayer beads through the night. The Army’s strength lies as much in fathers like Talib Hussain as in training and weapons.
Pakistan honours them both: the son who gave his life for the country, and the father who gave his life to the memory of his son.
May they rest together in eternal peace.
