Siachen, the world’s highest battlefield, has been the site of fierce combat, not only against the enemy India but also against extreme weather conditions.
On April 19, 1989, during “Operation Chiumak,” Lieutenant Naveed ur Rehman was airlifted by helicopter and dropped at a height of 21,000 feet.
Lieutenant General Ayaz Ahmad (Retired), who was serving as FCNA Commander at that time, recalls the details of this operation.
Lieutenant General Ayaz Ahmad (Retired) said:
“Operation Chiumak was launched in response to Indian aggression.”
“There was an Indian gun position that had become crucial to destroy.”
“To achieve this, we decided to capture an extremely high peak, which later came to be known as Chiumak,” said Lieutenant General Ayaz Ahmad (Retired).
“Unlike the Indian side, the Pakistani side was very steep and high, making it almost impossible to reach,” he added.
“We decided to use helicopters to reach this peak,” said Lieutenant General Ayaz Ahmad (Retired).
“Going up with a helicopter sling was a difficult task, but Major Naveed managed to do it.”
“Before the Indian forces could reach the top, our troops had already captured it,” he said.
“There was an Indian base camp beneath the Chiumak peak,” Lieutenant General Ayaz Ahmad (Retired) mentioned.
“During the attack led by Major Naveed, the Indian forces were forced to flee.”
“We strategically used artillery fire to destroy their base camp,” said Lieutenant General Ayaz Ahmad (Retired).
“The artillery fire caused snow on the peak to turn into avalanches, which buried the entire Indian battalion,” he added.
“After retreating, the Indian forces requested a flag meeting,” Lieutenant General Ayaz Ahmad (Retired) stated.
“At the flag meeting, it was agreed that a ceasefire would be observed and the Indian forces would take their dead bodies back,” he continued.
“When we extracted the bodies from the snow, we counted 400 Indian corpses,” he stated.
“The Indian Major General said that their forces would never return to this post,” Lieutenant General Ayaz Ahmad (Retired) noted.
Major General Mohammad Farooq Malik (Retired) shared his thoughts: “Major Naveed ur Rehman was one of my cadets.”
“At that time, I was a platoon commander at the Officers Training School in Mangla.”
“One quality that I noted about Major Naveed was his fighting spirit,” said Major General Mohammad Farooq Malik (Retired).
“During the sling flight, Major Naveed was struck by enemy artillery shrapnel,” he said.
“Major Naveed was severely wounded but continued to fight alone until reinforcements arrived,” Major General Mohammad Farooq Malik (Retired) added.
Major Naveed ur Rehman (Retired), Sitara-e-Jurat, recalls: “The Pakistan Army has always been my passion, and it remains my passion.”
“I volunteered for the Chiumak operation,” said Major Naveed (Retired).
“When the helicopter took off, the weather was very bad,” he recalled.
“The winds nearly crushed me, but my passion kept me going, and I wanted to reach the peak before the helicopter.”
“We tricked the enemy into thinking that we were numerous, when in fact, we weren’t,” he shared.
“During the sling flight, I was at an altitude of 25,000 feet,” he said.
“When the helicopter dropped me, I descended into a crevice at 21,400 feet, almost touching 22,000 feet,” Major Naveed concluded.