A funeral with full military honors was held in Islamabad on Wednesday for seven-year-old Irtaza Abbas Turi, who was martyred in unprovoked Indian shelling in Dawarandi, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The young boy was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Zaheer Abbas Turi, who also lost his life in the same attack, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The somber ceremony was attended by President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, the Information Minister, Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf, and a large number of serving and retired military officials, civil servants, and family members.
In his address, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the Indian military’s actions, denouncing the deliberate targeting of civilians, especially children, as cowardly and inhumane. He said these acts reveal a dangerous and irresponsible mindset within India’s leadership that threatens peace across the region and beyond.
President Zardari and Prime Minister Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s determination to respond to Indian aggression across all domains. They emphasized that violations of international humanitarian law and the targeting of innocent lives will not go unanswered.
The country’s top leadership offered prayers for the child and all those affected by the violence, asking for divine strength and patience for the bereaved families. “May Allah grant eternal peace to the departed souls and give strength to their families to bear this immense loss,” they stated.
This tragic incident has further strained relations between the two nuclear-armed countries, with Pakistan continuing to protest India’s escalations and its targeting of non-combatants along the Line of Control.
