New Delhi: Captain Pawan Kumar of 10 Para attained martyrdom leading his men from the front in a tricky deliberate operation against the terrorists hiding in a government building in Pampore area on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on Sunday morning.

The 22-year-old officer, hailing from Jind area in Harayana, had joined the Army only three years ago and had recently taken part in two successful operations where three militants were killed.

The father of Captain Pawan Kumar, who laid down his life fighting militants holed up inside a government building in Pampore area on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, is proud of the sacrifice made by his only child.

"I had only one child and I gave him to the Army, to the nation. No father can be prouder," Rajbir Singh, the Captain Pawan's father, was quoted as saying by an Army spokesman.

"He was a very brave and intrepid officer with barely three years of service but maturity beyond his years," he said.

The captain laid down his life as security forces tried to storm the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) building at Pampore in Pulwama district of south Kashmir where the militants are holed up since Saturday evening.