Muhammad Mahfuz

Shaheed Shaheed Muhammad Mahfuz NH
Born	25 October 1944 Pind Malkan, Rawalpindi District, British India
Died	Pul Kanjri, Amritsar district, India
Buried	Pind Malikan(Now Mehfoozabad), Islamabad
Allegiance	Pakistan
Service/branch	Pakistan Army
Years of service	1962–1971
Rank	Lance Naik
Unit	15 Punjab Regiment
Battles/wars	Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Awards	Nishan-e-Haider

Lance Naik Muhammad Mahfuz (born 25 October 1944) was a Pakistani soldier, who was awarded the Nishan-i-Haider, the highest military award of Pakistan, he was martyred during the indo-pak war...

Early life

Muhammad Mahfuz was born in Pind Malikan (now renamed Mahfuzabad in his honour) in Rawalpindi district Punjab. He joined the Pakistan Army on 25 October 1962 as an infantry soldier.

Martyrdom

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, 15th Punjab Regiment was deployed in the Wagah-Attari sector along the Indian border. Lance Naik Muhammad Mahfuz was the operator of a light machine-gun in "A" Company of the regiment.

Mahfuz's machine-gun was destroyed by an Indian shell as "A" Company came under heavy fire from automatic weapons on the night of 17 December 1971. Wounded in his legs by shrapnel and unarmed, he single-handedly attacked an enemy bunker from which fire had caused many Pakistani deaths. There he strangled one of the enemy soldiers and was killed by another with a bayonet.

Awards and decorations

On 23 March 1972, Mahfooz was posthumously awarded the Nishan-e-Haider, the highest gallantry award of Pakistan.