Commandos are taught to go where others cannot. On 29 August 2012, Captain Tariq Jamal went there — and did not return.
He was an officer of the 118th Long Course who served with 68 Field Artillery and the 6th Commando Battalion of the Special Services Group — a commando in the truest sense. On 29 August 2012, he embraced shahadat during an operation against terrorists in Orakzai Agency.
Fourteen years later, in 2026, the nation marked his 14th shahadat anniversary. The tributes remember him as the pride of the nation and the pride of the 118th Long Course — and the SSG fraternity remembers him as one of its own, a commando who never backed down.
The Operation in Orakzai
Orakzai Agency was among the toughest battlegrounds of the war against militancy, and it was there that Captain Tariq Jamal fought his last battle. As an SSG commando, he belonged to an elite brotherhood trained for the most dangerous missions the Army undertakes. On 29 August 2012, in an operation against terrorists, he gave his life leading the fight.
Commandos are taught to go where others cannot, and Captain Tariq Jamal lived that creed to its final consequence. His service with the 6th Commando Battalion placed him at the very tip of the spear in Pakistan’s hardest war. The operations in Orakzai were fought against a determined enemy in unforgiving terrain, and they demanded everything the Army had.
He gave everything he had, and more.
The Commando’s Path
The Special Services Group is the elite of the Pakistan Army, and its commandos are selected and trained for missions that demand the utmost in skill and courage. To wear the SSG’s insignia is to belong to a brotherhood apart, and Captain Tariq Jamal earned his place in the 6th Commando Battalion through the gruelling selection that breaks all but the strongest. He was, by every measure, among the finest soldiers Pakistan produces.
Before the SSG, he was an artilleryman of the 118th Long Course, serving with 68 Field Artillery. The path from the guns to the commandos is the path of an officer who sought the hardest challenges — and mastered them. His career, though cut short, was the career of a soldier who never chose the easy road.
The Original Tribute
The anniversary tribute posted in his honour reads as follows:
Today is 14th shahadat anniversary of Capt Tariq Jamal Shaheed Sbt
On 29Aug12, He embraced shahadat in an ops against terrorist at Orakzai Agency.
Pride of Nation
Pride of 118L/C ex 68FD Arty/6CDO Bn SSG
Nation will never forget you Sir
We owe you & you’ll be forever in our hearts
Fourteen Years of Honour
The SSG’s traditions are built on the sacrifices of men exactly like Captain Tariq Jamal. In the commando battalions, the fallen are never truly gone; their names are invoked to inspire the next generation, and their example sets the standard every new commando must meet. Fourteen years on, his name still carries that weight — the weight of a commando who chose the hardest missions and never once flinched.
“Nation will never forget you, Sir. We owe you, and you will be forever in our hearts.” The tribute’s closing words are a promise — and the country keeps it, year after year, every 29 August.
Captain Tariq Jamal Shaheed fought for Pakistan with a commando’s courage and died with a soldier’s honour. May Allah grant him the highest place among the shuhada and give his family the pride of knowing their son is immortal in the nation’s memory. We owe him, and all our martyrs, a debt that can never be repaid.
