RAWALPINDI: The 5th death anniversary of 1965 war veteran Sepoy Maqbool Hussain is being observed on Monday.
Sepoy Maqbool Hussain was a Pakistani soldier who was wounded during the Indo-Pakistan War in 1965 and subsequently taken unofficially as a prisoner of war by Indian troops.
He spent four decades of his life in Indian military jails, as his legal status was not registered as a prisoner of war, stripping him of certain rights that he would be entitled to by international law.
Hussain was subjected to severe torture by interrogators and remained defiant when he was asked to give up any information to jeopardize Pakistan’s national security.
Over the next 40 years, Hussain remained in an Indian prison, where he would regularly write ” Pakistan Zindabad” on the walls of his cell with his blood.
Due to the torture inflicted upon him, Maqbool Hussain was declared mentally unstable and set free in 2005.
He was released on 17 September 2005 during a prisoner exchange between India and Pakistan at the Wagah-Attari border crossing.
Sepoy Maqbool Hussain was awarded Sitara-i-Juraat in recognition of his services and sacrifice.
Hussain died on 28 August 2018 in Attock, Punjab. He was a native of Tarar Khel, Sudhanoti District in Azad Kashmir.
In 2008, the ISPR co-produced a drama series named Sipahi Maqbool Hussain on him.
