Islamabad, January 20 : Army Captain Ahmed Raza Khan, the Asian soldier at the centre of the Prince Harry `Paki' row, has been nothing less than a brave war hero, according to his family.

Ahmed was one of 440 elite cadets chosen to spend 44 weeks training alongside Harry at Sandhurst, the prestigious military academy in Surrey, between May 2005 and April 2006.

His family claimed that the Captain had been shot in the shoulder near the Afghanistan border, as 17 soldiers were slain and another 13 injured when a convoy of his regiment was hit with a bomb in North Waziristan in July 2007.

The son of a retired bank manager still managed to regroup and help his injured officers as he fought for an hour before reinforcements arrived.

"We are all very proud of him. After he was injured, he spent 15 days in an army hospital then he came back here to rest for a week. People came from all over the valley to see him and to hear his story," the Daily Times quoted Ahmed's first cousin, Sohail Sarwar, as saying.

According to the Telegraph, the prince's fellow cadet was one of the top recruits at Sandhurst and had been given a commendation for his courage during the ambush.

The paper had earlier reported that Ahmed was also presented with a sword of honour by the Queen as the most successful overseas cadet at their passing out ceremony in 2006 and earned three other medals for having top marks in subjects such as defence studies.

Even though the young officer has not made a formal complaint against Harry for calling him "our little Paki friend" in a home video shot three years ago, the publication of the tape has led the royal to face an investigation within his chain of command. (ANI)