The decision to observe the April 30th as Yaum-e-Shuhada every year has been widely welcomed as there was a need being felt to dedicate a day in the year to commemorate and eulogize the services and sacrifices rendered by the sons of soil for the security, safety and glory of this nation. The nation salutes these sons of soil. The nation salutes the mothers and sisters who appoint their sons and brothers to guard the borders with their lives. Thriving nations do not forget their martyrs. This is a day to pay homage to them. The entire nation welcomes the mothers, sisters and daughters of our unforgettable Shuhada as they had welcomed the bodies of their loved ones. This day is not only to commemorate the sacrifices of the recipients of gallantry awards like Nishan-i-Haider, Tamgha-i-Jurrat, etc but also for those who offered their lives during the war against terror since 2001. This war is going on, and in words of the army chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, it will be won by all means till the elimination of terror. The Pakistani nation, the Pakistan Army, the Pakistan Navy and the Pakistan Air Force, the Pakistan Police Force, Pakistans paramilitary and second tier security force, the state, the federal and the provincial intelligence agencies in fact everyone is no doubt, fortunate to have such flowers that blossom on its soil who feel proud to give their lives for their nation. A soldier adorning the uniform becomes a guardian of the nation, safeguarding not one home but the entire homeland. They have never let the nation down and never will. Treading on the path of their predecessors, they are standing erect against every internal and external conspiracy. The bloodshed by the Shuhada will bear fruit and very soon, the motherland, our beloved homeland will be free from the vice of extremism and terrorism as all these thorns will be gradually weeded out from our garden, our Pakistan MUHAMMAD AMJAD, April 29.