Srinagar, June 16: Martyred Indian Army jawan Aurangzeb Khan, rifleman in 44 Rashtriya Rifles, was laid to rest with full state honours on Saturday amid huge crowds at his native village in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch. Even as his father Mohammed Haneef mourned the "sacrifice of his son for the nation", he said that people should not stop sending the children to the Army. Haneef, who is himself an ex-serviceman, said as quoted by The Indian Express, "My son has died but if all people stop sending their children to the Army, then who will fight for the nation?"

Speaking to the media before Aurangzeb's last rites, Haneef said, "My son has abided by his pledge, he has kept his promise. He sacrificed himself for the nation and came back to me. I request the central and state government to eliminate militancy from Kashmir."

Aurangzeb, 24, was returning home for Eid when he was abducted by terrorists in Pulwama and was killed later. While his elder brother is also in the armed forces, his two younger brothers are preparing to enter the Army.

On Friday, a video of Aurangzeb Khan has been released by terrorists before they shot him dead. In the video, terrorists are first heard asking the Army jawan his name, his father's name and they then go on to ask him about the encounters that he had been part of. Aurangzeb is heard fearlessly telling the terrorists that he and Major Rohit Shukla killed Sameer Tiger and other terrorists in an operation in Kashmir.

On Friday, Aurangzeb's father demanded that the Narendra Modi government "finds and shoots" down the killers of his son "within the next 72 hours". "I am giving Narendra Modi 72 hours to take revenge on his son's killers, or else we will take revenge for the son's death from his killers," Aurangzeb's father said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 16, 2018 03:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).