RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir among others on Tuesday attended the funeral prayers of two Pakistan Army pilots, who were martyred in a training aircraft crash near Quetta a day ago.
Major Husnain Shehzad Humayun Shaheed and Captain Abdul Samad Shaheed lost their lives when a Pakistan Army Aviation Mushshak training aircraft crashed near Nawan Killi in Quetta district on Monday.
Senior political and military figures joined the funeral prayers to pay their respects to the two officers.
The funeral prayers were attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Field Marshal Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and other officials.
The two pilots were identified by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, as Major Husnain Shehzad Humayun, an instructor pilot, and Captain Abdul Samad, a student pilot. Their deaths prompted condolences from the country’s top leadership, with officials expressing sympathy for the families following the fatal incident.
According to the ISPR, the Mushshak training aircraft crashed around midday on October 12 near Nawan Killi. The military’s media wing said a technical fault caused the accident, which claimed the lives of both pilots.
The aircraft was being used for training when the incident occurred. The ISPR identified the officers who died in the crash but provided no further details in the statement.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief over the deaths of the two pilots and extended condolences to their bereaved families.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also conveyed his sympathies, prayed for the elevation of the officers’ ranks and asked for their families to be granted strength to bear the loss.
The crash follows other military aviation accidents reported in Pakistan this year. In June, a Pakistan Army Aviation Mi-17 helicopter crashed near Muzaffarabad during take-off, according to the ISPR. Earlier that month, a Pakistan Air Force aircraft crashed during a routine training flight in Mardan.