The history of the Pakistan Army is replete with examples of our young warriors who fought bravely and performed outstandingly. Their efforts have led to many strategically beneficial outcomes in tactical battles. Unfortunately, most of those exceptional performances have neither been documented nor remembered anywhere in our historical documentations. They not only brought laurels to their units and to themselves, but also to the nation.
I made an endeavor that began over two decades ago to bring on record ‘heroes of Pakistan,’ through books, newsprint, as well as professional magazines. In this article I have picked one such unsung hero, Lt Colonel Samin Jan Babar, who performed exceptionally well during the Indo-Pak Wars of 1965 and 1971, where he was given a Sitara-e-Jurat and an Imtiazi Sanad, becoming the only person to achieve this distinction. After serving for 12 years in the Pakistan Army, he joined the Civil Services of Pakistan in 1974 where he did extremely well and served as a federal secretary. Not only that, but he was also a provincial minister in the caretaker government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2013.
Early life and Military Service
Babar was born on December 8, 1941 at village Pirpiai, near Nowshera, a name that is familiar to most military personnel as it is famous for producing some of the finest officers of Pakistan Army. The village rightfully takes pride in its gallant and decorated officers like Major General Adam Khan, the late Major General Naseerullah Babar, Babar and Major Farooq Adam.
He received his education from the Pakistan Airforce Public School Sargodha from where he passed his Senior Cambridge Examination in 1959. In October 1959, he joined the 25th Pakistan Military Academy Long Course and got his commission in April 1962, thereafter joining the Guides Infantry, one of the oldest infantry battalions of Pakistan Army.
Indo-Pakistan War 1965
On April 26, 1965, young Lieutenant Babar was serving as the D Company Commander in 2 FF, that was based in the Rann of Kutch. It was during the limited war with India that he was given the task of capturing Biar Bet, a raised feature in the Rann of Kutch, that had been occupied by an Indian Para Company. As Lt Babar was forming up his company for an attack, the Indians opened fire using automatic weapons, small arms and recoilless rifles, supported by artillery fire. The heavy volume of fire caused difficulties for Babar’s company and in the process his leading platoon received serious injuries, that included second Lt Hadi, his second in command along with instant shahadat of six of his men, forcing disarray and dissipation of his force. Lt Babar, keeping his nerves cool, reorganised his assaulting platoons and led the company assault himself. Thereafter, despite the stiff resistance, heavy and uninterrupted fire, he succeeded in capturing his objective and in the process took one Junior Commissioned Officer and five Indian soldiers as prisoners as well as two trucks, loaded with building material. For this act of gallantry displayed by him and his brave company, he was awarded with an Imtiazi Sanad.
In March 1966, he was posted as an instructor at the School of Infantry and Tactics, later he was moved to erstwhile East Pakistan in 1970 and was a witness to all the events during the Indo-Pak war, later becoming a POW.
First Sitara-e-Jurat
In 1971, then Major Babar was commanding a rifle company in East Pakistan and was tasked to capture a border outpost in the Satkhira sub-division which had been occupied by the Indian Forces that were being supported by rebellious elements of the East Bengal Regiment. The outpost was sited at a raised bund along the Indian border and was very heavily fortified.
In order to capture this post, Babar planned an attack at dawn with his depleted company to capture the positions. The attack was met with stiff resistance and was partially successful in securing the limited objective, however, in the process his company sustained heavy casualties, including the martyrdom of a captain. In order to capture this deeply entrenched enemy position that was armed with machine guns, light automatic rifles and supported by heavy artillery and mortar fire, Babar planned an attack at night. On assessing the situation and seeing the overwhelming strength in terms of weapons and numbers, the a battalion attack was ordered to evict the Indians. Meanwhile, Babar remained undeterred and assured his commanding officer that the outpost would be capture and the mission would be accomplished through a night attack with the same battered company. Accordingly, he planned meticulously and carried out an attack during the night using hand grenades and rocket launchers extensively. The attack led to hand-to-hand combat between Babar’s men and the Indians. Eventually the enemy was defeated and suffered heavy casualties – the outpost was captured along with large supplies of weapons. For his act of bravery, valour and fearless leadership Babar was awarded with a Sitara-e-Jurat.
The Second Sitara-e-Jurat
Jessore Cantonment in East Pakistan, fell to the Indian forces during the night of December 7, 1971. Babar, who was commanding a company at Benapole, along the border with India was ordered to withdraw and occupy a delaying position along the road Jessore-Khulna-Benapole Y-Junction and to keep the enemy at bay for at least 24-hours so that the remaining units of the brigade could gain time to prepare its main defensive positions.
The Indians attacked the Y-Junction on December 7, 1971 with their infantry leading and armour in close support. The attack was preceded with aerial and heavy bombardment. Pakistan’s troops, however, fought back bravely, thwarting the Indian efforts and managed to repulse the attack after inflicting substantial losses on them.
On the morning of December 8, 1971, the Indian Army launched a fresh attack with renewed vigour. This time the attack was led by their armour devision, while their infantry followed in zone. Their attack came to a grinding halt again when Babar’s company created gaps in the leading wave of the Indian armour by taking out three of the leading tanks, one after the other. During this time, his company was subjected to heavy and uninterrupted artillery, mortar and tank fire, supported by the Indian Air Force. Babar held his positions and thwarted all Indian attempts. Instead of keeping the Indians at bay for 24-hours as ordered, he did not allow them to make any headway for 72-hours, and in the process inflicted heavy casualties upon them.
Having defended the positions successfully for 72-hours in the face of heavy onslaught despite being outnumbered, Babar was finally ordered to join his battalion’s main defensive positions. For his undaunted personal courage, valor and leadership qualities under extreme circumstances, Babar was bestowed with his second Sitara-e-Jurat.
After repatriation from India, following the Indo-Pak War of 1971, Lt Col Samin Jan Babar joined the Civil Services of Pakistan in 1974.
His first posting was in Balochistan as Assistant Political Agent, Dera Bugti. His illustrious career in the Civil Services of Pakistan lasted for 27 years till his retirement on December 08, 2001 as a Federal Secretary, in Islamabad.
