Captain Roohullah Mohmand

Hailing from Shabqadar town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan’s national hero, an SSG commando of the Pakistan Army, Captain Roohullah Mohmand, 27, whose family was busy in the preparations of his wedding embraced martyrdom on 24^th October, 2016. He was trying to protect and free the hostages from an attack at a police Training Centre in Quetta (PTC). Sixty one security officials were martyred and more than 150 were injured in the incident.

Pakistan Army troops rescued hundreds of policemen at the Police Training College when foreign enemy backed three terrorists suicide bombers stormed the facility. Having neutralised one suicide bomber, Captain Roohullah jumped on the second bomber in a room full of police cadets, helping large number of police recruits escape till he exploded causing the damage.

Who is hiding under the charpoy (Bed)? Capt Roohullah shouted out. His words still ring in my ears, recalled Abdullah Khan, one of hundreds of recruits who was trapped inside Quetta's police training academy as three heavily-armed suicide-vest-strapped gunmen stormed the building on Monday night.

As gunfire raged on outside the barracks, Abdullah and a group of his fellow recruits were huddled under charpoys in the darkness waiting to be rescued. A suicide bomber had entered our room and was also hiding under a charpoy. We didn't know because it was totally dark and silent, the injured recruit said.

All of a sudden, Capt Roohullah barreled his way into the barracks. He asked, Are you our people? He kept asking us the same thing over and over, said Abdullah. He had a light in front of his weapon, he said, which made him undistinguishable. The recruits thought Capt. Roohullah was the suicide bomber calling out to them and remained silent.

But then the young captain identified himself as an SSG soldier. We told him that we were from the police, and he asked us to come out. Put your hands up & move out, he said. Following the orders, all the cadets in the room came out from under their beds one by one, except one. It is standard procedure for recruits to hide under their beds and not show themselves during such an attack. Roohullah noticed and yelled out, asking the person to show himself. He moved swiftly across the room and kicked the charpoy over to reveal an attacker, Abdullah said.

Before anyone could make a move, the captain threw himself onto the suicide bomber and moments later, the attacker detonated his explosive-laden jacket. We don't know what happened after the blast, Abdullah said. I sustained injuries. We were knocked out and came to our senses several minutes later. The survivors then recounted how they all lost their consciousness and later came to know that the SSG soldier's heroic act had claimed his life but had saved lots of others.

Captain Roohullah was an elite army commando who will be posthumously awarded Tamgha-e-Jurrat, the fourth highest military award in Pakistan. Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif announced gallantry award for Captain Roohullah Shaheed for his unwavering bravery and valiant action during the anti-terrorists Operations at PTC according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Born on May 5, 1989, Caprain Roohullah was the eldest of four children and has two brothers and one sister. He had his early education from Sheikhan Derakhy in his native village and then did his Matriculation in 2007. Subsequently he did his FSC from Government Degree College Peshawar in 2009. His parents wanted him to become a doctor but he preferred to join the army as it was his passion.

Captain Roohullah was commissioned by the Pakistan Army in 2012 and participated in various counter-terror operations in South Waziristan Agency. The slain captain was also part of the operational team during the Bacha Khan University attack in Charsadda in January 2016.

His funeral prayers were offered in his home town.