He was the only son of his parents. On 22 October 2010, Lt Col Muhammad Yousaf Shaheed left behind a widow and three daughters. Sixteen years on, Sargodha still remembers the son who never came home.
First of all, Muhammad Yousaf came from Sargodha, a city that has given many of its sons to the uniform. He was the pride of the 85th Long Course and served with the 8th Punjab Regiment of the Pakistan Army. After that, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He carried his family’s name with honour, and his men knew him as a steady officer.
Lt Col Muhammad Yousaf Shaheed: A Son of Sargodha
Lt Col Muhammad Yousaf Shaheed belonged to Sargodha, and he was the only son of his parents. For example, the tribute shared in his honour says it plainly: he was the only son, and he left a widow and three daughters. A family gives its only son to the Army, and the Army gives him back only in memory. That is the price his family paid for the country.
At the same time, the photograph shared with the tribute shows him standing beside Maj Mustafa Sabir Shaheed, another officer who also embraced shahadat. The two men stand in uniform, smiling for the camera. The picture is old, yet the smiles in it still speak. Both officers are gone now, but the photograph keeps them together.
The Day Lt Col Muhammad Yousaf Shaheed Embraced Shahadat
On 22 October 2010, Lt Col Muhammad Yousaf Shaheed embraced shahadat in an IED blast in Orakzai Agency. A roadside bomb exploded under his convoy in the Yakh Kandao area. Six soldiers were killed, including the Lieutenant Colonel. However, the blast did not only take a soldier. It took a husband, a father, and an only son.
Finally, those who serve in the tribal areas stand on the front line of the country’s longest fight. They guard the roads, the towns, and the people of a land that has paid dearly for its peace. Every soldier there knows the risk. Lt Col Muhammad Yousaf Shaheed accepted it the day he took the oath. On 22 October 2010, the oath asked everything of him.
The Original Tribute
The tribute posted in his honour reads as follows:
Today is 16th shahadat anniversary of Lt Col Muhammad Yousaf Shaheed
On 22Oct2010, he embraced shahadat in an IED Blast in Orakzai agency.
He was Only Son. He left a widow and three Daughters. Belonged from Sargodha.
Pride of Nation. Pride of 85L/C ex 8PR.
His Sacrifice, Our Future
The soldiers who guard this country stand day and night like a wall before the nation. They take the enemy’s bullet on their own chests so that it never reaches the people behind them. Their sacrifices guarantee the bright future the rest of us walk into every morning.
As a result, every year on 22 October, his shahadat anniversary will return, and tributes will honour a life given in the service of the nation. Meanwhile, the country will remember Lt Col Muhammad Yousaf Shaheed’s services with pride. May Allah raise his ranks, grant him the highest place in Jannat-ul-Firdous, and bless Pakistan with peace and security.
Above all, remember this: he was a husband, a father, an only son, and a soldier. Will you keep his memory alive? Share his story, and let his daughters know that Pakistan has not forgotten their father. Pakistan will never forget him.
Read also: GC Habib Ullah Shaheed: Pride of TCC-34 and Capt M Tahir Shaheed: A Soldier Lost Far From Home.
