From bangles to bombs

Being born in the 1980s, like any other kid of that decade, I grew up watching famous PTV dramas ‘Sunehray Din’ and ‘Alpha Bravo Charlie’. The extraordinary storyline and acting skills of the actors had me captivated and fascinated for so long that it ignited the urge and passion in me to join Pakistan Army, even when there were no females serving in the Armed Forces other than in AMC and AFNS. This passion was further nurtured by the fact that my paternal and maternal grandfathers had both served in the Army and fought the 1965 and 1971 wars. I grew up listening to the heroic stories of these wars from them, which left me wondering if I would ever be able to follow in their footsteps.

My father had been very passionate about joining the Army, however, he could not do so due to some medical issues. To fulfill my father’s dream, my two brothers tried their luck a few times but unfortunately, they also did not get selected. It was only until the day when my father came across the ad of LCC-7 in 2010, that my father’s long-standing dream saw another glimmer of hope. I was doing MPhil in Chemistry from Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan at the time. After applying, the lengthy and tiresome selection procedure started. Getting recommended for ISSB in my first attempt was something unbelievable for my family. It was because of my father’s hard work in preparing me for ISSB in terms of physical activities and improving my verbal expressions that I was able to clear ISSB. Followed by panel interview and detailed medical examination, I was finally selected for training of LCC-7 at PMA. The day I received my selection letter was the happiest day of my life, for I had fulfilled the dream of my life and that of my father’s.

I was extremely excited to start this new journey of my life. I finally landed in PMA, of which I had only heard stories from officers or those that I had read in the fabulous book ‘Kakuliyat’, written by Brig (R) Saulat Raza. I remember my training at PMA as a story of numerous ups and downs, however, it was an experience like no other and all the hard work was worth it in the end.

After passing out I joined the Ordnance Corps (also known as the Royal Corps in other arms). Neither at the time of applying nor during training, I was intimated that I would be handling live ammunition. All my life I had been dealing with bangles and now I had to handle bombs but there I was, among the young officers dealing with bombs.

In 2018, my husband (who is also an Army officer) and I got selected for the Ammunition Technical Officers Course (ATO). We have the honour of being the second ATO couple in Pakistan Army’s history. However, everything was not as smooth as it looks as we had to move to Karachi from Quetta for the course, leaving behind our two children with my mother, our daughter being just a couple months old.

As much as I was sad about not having my kids around, I was happy for having the opportunity to learn about bomb making and handling from highly qualified faculty. The most dangerous yet exciting part of the course was the practical handling of a bomb after almost eight months of theory learning. There came a time, when my husband and I sat together in a bomb grave — a pit filled with unserviceable explosive material, which was to be disposed of under the guidance of the Directing Staff.

After successful completion of the ATO course, we were posted to Okara for ‘on job training’ (OJT), which involved each and every aspect of explosive handling. My first ever experience of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) was splendid, since we were disposing off Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missiles, which had no more service requirement. I came across a tricky situation while practical handling, where one out of the 18 TOW missiles (which was mine) went blind. As per the procedure, I had to go closer to the missile to identify the problem and had to rectify it myself. Alhamdulillah, I managed to do that successfully.

In 2019, the first ever Joint Demolition Exercise for the disposal of unserviceable ammunition and explosives was planned in Okara in which I was responsible for coordinating the affairs of the exercise and I feel proud being a part of the execution team.

My journey is not just about handling bombs and explosives, Pakistan Army has given me so many other opportunities to do myself, my family and country proud. In 2020, I had the honour of going for the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC. It provided me with an opportunity to serve humanity. Even though being thousands of miles away from my family was really difficult for me to bear and I used to miss my children incredibly, but I saw a glimpse of my own children in every Congolese child. To top it off, while I was coping with homesickness and acclimatization problems, the whole world was struck by COVID-19. I witnessed the worst effects of COVID-19 in this poverty-stricken, war-torn country. Children asking for food can never be forgotten. Pakistan Army, under the ambit of the UN, committed to its responsibilities of fighting the pandemic with utmost zeal and resolute intentions. But this did not go along without its share of grief; one of our soldiers, who had planned to get married in August could not live to see the day as he died of the pandemic in July 2020. Life is filled with such uncertain events and being an officer/soldier makes you more vulnerable to such uncertainties. However, the Pakistani contingent fulfilled its commitments despite the setbacks that we had to suffer.

I never knew what it was like to be an officer until I wore the uniform and felt the weight of responsibilities on my shoulders. It fills me with immense gratitude that I am serving in such a prestigious institution, which is a dream of many patriots. Behind every successful man there is a woman, they say, I believe behind every successful woman there are two men always having her back: her father and her husband. It is because of their love, support and belief in me that I have achieved everything that I have. My only wish is that I continue to do my duty to my country to the best of my abilities and try to repay all the respect and honour that wearing the uniform has brought me.