Srinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday led the nation in paying homage to the slain Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel on the third anniversary of the deadly Pulwama suicide attack, and said their bravery and supreme sacrifice motivate every Indian to work towards a strong and prosperous country.
On February 14, 2019, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militants carried out a suicide attack on a convoy of the CRPF at Lethpora, Pulwama in south Kashmir, killing 40 personnel of the force.
Modi tweeted, “I pay homage to all those martyred in Pulwama on this day in 2019 and recall their outstanding service to our nation. Their bravery and supreme sacrifice motivates every Indian to work towards a strong and prosperous country.”
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted, “This country will never forget the sacrifice of the brave CRPF jawans killed in Pulwama in 2019. I pay my tributes to them.”
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also paid tributes to the CRPF jawans and said their memory will motivate India to fight the “evil of cross-border terrorism”.
“Tributes to the brave jawans who made the supreme sacrifice at Pulwama. Their memory will always motivate us to fight the evil of cross-border terrorism. Today, and always, the nation will remember,” he tweeted.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the sacrifice of CRPF jawans killed in the Pulwama terror attack will not go in vain and asserted that “we will ensure answers are given”.
“We can never forget the martyrs of Pulwama. Their sacrifice and that of their families will not go in vain — we will ensure answers are given. Jai Hind,” Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also paid tributes to the CRPF personnel and resolved to eliminate the menace of terrorism in the union territory.
At an event at Lethpora in Pulwama district, Additional Director General (ADG), CRPF, D S Chaudhary, led the officers and jawans of the paramilitary force in paying tributes at the martyrs’ memorial, about 25 km from Srinagar.
“Every year we come together here on this day to remember the 40 brave jawans who lost their lives in Pulwama (attack). We remember their sacrifice and pay tributes to them from the bottom of our hearts,” Chaudhary told reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony.
The CRPF officer said the endeavour of the force is to maintain peace in the Valley and not let the sacrifices of their personnel go in vain.
Slain CRPF jawan’s widow honoured
A widow of a CRPF personnel killed in the Pulwama suicide attack was honoured by the paramilitary force at an event here, an official said.
Veer Nari ShaziaKouser, the wife of head constable Naseer Ahmed — one of the 40 slain jawans — was honored by Second in Command, 76 Battalion, Kamal Sisodiya, by presenting a shawl and Bonsai plant,” a CRPF spokesperson said in a statement.
“The cowardly suicide attack of Pulwama 2019 was very sad and painful, but after that attack, in the last three years, we have defeated terrorists on every front and many terrorists were killed in Jammu and Kashmir. This is our true tribute to our martyrs,” Sisodiya said.
She said the jawans sacrificing their lives for the country belong to the whole nation and “we should remember them with open heart and keep politics aside”.
Different political parties and social groups also organised separate functions across the Jammu region and paid rich tributes to the CRPF personnel killed in the attack.
