To command a regiment is one of the highest honours an officer can hold. It means the Army has entrusted him not only with its soldiers but with its colours, its history and its honour. Lieutenant Colonel Gul Faraz of the Pakistan Army, an officer of the 109 Long Course, earned that trust, and rose to become commanding officer of the 34 Lancers. On 21 February 2026, he embraced shahadat in the line of duty.
Those who knew him speak of him as the pride of the nation. And the tribute paid to him carries a line that captures the faith sustaining every family of the fallen: that he must now be celebrating his day in the company of the shuhada. It is a belief that turns grief into pride, and it is held by millions across Pakistan.
An Officer’s Life of Service
Rising through the ranks of the Pakistan Army to the command of a regiment is the work of decades. It demands professional excellence at every step, the confidence of superiors, and the devotion of the men commanded. Lt Col Gul Faraz of the 109 Long Course earned all three, and his appointment as commanding officer of the 34 Lancers spoke to the trust the Army placed in his leadership and character.
The 34 Lancers is an armoured regiment with its own proud traditions, and to lead such a regiment is to be responsible for some of the Army’s most potent fighting power. The officers who reach that position have been tested in every kind of posting, and they carry the weight of their regiment’s honour as personally as their own.
His course mates of the 109 Long Course speak of him as the pride of the nation, a man who lived by the code of the uniform to his final day. That is not praise given lightly among soldiers. It is earned, over years, in the small decisions and the large ones, and it is given only to those who deserve it.
Honouring His Memory
Every year on 21 February, his shahadat is remembered by those who served with him and by Pakistanis who hold the armed forces in the highest regard. The grief is fresh, the loss recent, but the honour is already certain: he served Pakistan faithfully to his last day, and he died in the uniform he had worn with pride for his entire adult life.
The words of his tribute, that he must be celebrating his day in the company of the shuhada, carry the deepest consolation the faith offers. Martyrdom is not an end but a promotion. Those who die in the service of the country join honoured company, and their families can hold their heads high knowing where their loved one now stands.
What Command Means
There is a weight to regimental command that civilians rarely see. A commanding officer is responsible for hundreds of soldiers and their families, for the regiment’s equipment, and for the regiment’s name in battle. He is the first to be blamed when things go wrong and the last to claim credit when they go right. Officers who bear that weight well are remembered long after they leave command.
Lt Col Gul Faraz bore it as the commanding officer of the 34 Lancers, and the pride with which his course mates speak of him suggests he bore it well. When a commanding officer falls, the grief runs through the entire regiment: the soldiers he led, the officers he mentored, and the families he was responsible for all feel the loss personally. That is the nature of command. It creates bonds that death does not break, and memories that anniversaries keep alive.
The 109 Long Course produced an officer the whole Army could be proud of. His loss is felt not only by his family but by the regiment he led and the course he belonged to.
A Commander’s Honour
Lt Col Gul Faraz Shaheed served Pakistan faithfully to his last day. May Allah grant him a place among the shuhada and give comfort to his loved ones. His service, and the service of all who wear this uniform, keeps the flag of Pakistan flying high.
The pride of the nation. The pride of the 109 Long Course. He will not be forgotten.
