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Muhammad Nasir Dar was an officer of the Pakistan Air Force who died in the line of duty during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He was posthumously awarded the Sitara-e-Basalat.
Dar was inducted into the Pakistan Air Force and rose to be a squadron leader at a young age during the late sixties. One of his batch mates Air Chief Marshal Hakimullah rose to be the twelfth Chief of the Pakistan Air Force from 1988 to 1991. Dar was an officer of a high calibre and was assigned to the Signals branch of the Air Force.
During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, Squadron Leader Muhammad Nasir Dar was serving at the Pakistan Air Force base at Sargodha. On the night of 22 December 1971, Dar was the victim of an Indian air raid on his engineering facility. He was undeterred by the attack and continued to work normally beyond the call of duty. During the course of the air raid, both he and his junior colleague, Flight Lieutenant, Wasim were killed. [1]
Subsequently, he was awarded the high award of Sitara-i-Basalat or Star of Good Conduct [2] for his act of extreme bravery in the face of certain death. [3] [4] [5] He is regarded as one of the legendary falcons of the Pakistan Air Force.[ citation needed ]
Air Chief Marshal Pratap Chandra Lal, DFC was the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He served in the IAF from 1939 until his retirement in 1973. He was the CAS at the time of Operation Chengiz Khan, the preemptive strikes that were carried out by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) that marked the formal initiation of hostilities of the war.
Pakistan Air Force Base, Nur Khan is an active Pakistan Air Force airbase located in Chaklala, Rawalpindi, Punjab province, Pakistan. The former Benazir Bhutto International Airport forms part of this airbase.PAF College, Chaklala, an institute for Aviation Cadets of the college, and Fazaia Inter College Nur Khan are also located on the base.
No. 7 Squadron IAF operates as a Special Munitions Delivery and air superiority unit. Based at Gwalior AFB, No. 7 Squadron forms a part of 40 Wing AF, Central Air Command.
Sarfaraz Ahmed Rafiqui was a Pakistani fighter pilot. He is best known for his gallant actions in two of the aerial dogfights during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, and is a recipient of both the Hilal-e-Jurat and the Sitara-e-Jurat military awards from the Government of Pakistan. He is considered as one of the most decorated officers of the Pakistan Air Force as he had the honour to be awarded with the second and third highest gallantry award.
Major MuhammadShabbir SharifNH SJ, was a Pakistani military officer and the seventh recipient of Pakistan's highest military award, Nishan-e-Haider, which he was posthumously awarded for his actions of valor during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He is the only recipient to have ever received both the Nishan-e-Haider and Sitara-e-Jurat for his bravery, and is regarded as the most decorated officer in the Pakistan Army. His younger brother, General Raheel Sharif, was the ninth Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army.
The Hilal-e-Jurat is the second-highest military award of Pakistan out of a total of four gallantry awards that were created in 1957. In order of rank it comes after the Nishan-e-Haider coming before the Sitara-e-Jurat.
Sitara-e-Jurat is the third highest military award of Pakistan. It was established in 1957 after Pakistan became a republic; however, it was instituted retrospectively back to 1947. It is awarded for gallantry or distinguished service in combat; and can be bestowed upon officers, junior commissioned officers, petty officers, warrant officers, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and equivalents in the Pakistan Army, Navy, Air Force, and various paramilitary forces under federal control, such as the Frontier Corps, the Frontier Constabulary, and the Pakistan Rangers. It may be considered to be roughly equivalent to the Military Cross and the Silver Star.
Muhammad Hamidullah Khan, TJ, Sitara-e-Harb, BP was a military leader and a war hero in two wars fought in South Asia: the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and the Bangladesh Independence War in 1971. M. Hamidullah Khan was also a public official as a member of both Awami League (1996~1997), and Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Hamidullah held quite a number of public offices as Chairman such as Sonali Bank, Freedom Fighters Welfare Trust, Security & Exchange Commission and Board of Investment.
Mervyn Leslie MiddlecoatSJ & Bar was a Pakistani fighter pilot in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) who was involved in a number of aerial battles during the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistani wars, before being shot down on 12 December 1971. He was one of a number of distinguished Pakistani strike and fighter pilots of the period. Before his death he was stationed at Mauripur, Karachi, Pakistan where he flew the F-104 Starfighter.
Peter Christy, SJ, was a PAF bomber pilot and weapon systems officer (WSO). A B-57 Canberra navigator, Christy was officially missing in action in December 1971, and is presumed dead by the Pakistan Armed Forces. He was posthumously honored by the Pakistani government with the Sitara-e-Jurat in 1971.
No. 9 Squadron, named the Griffins, is a Pakistan Air Force fighter squadron assigned to the No. 38 Multi-Role Wing of the PAF Central Air Command. The squadron is stationed at PAF Base Mushaf, Sargodha. It was the PAF's first fighter squadron and has been commanded by seven Chiefs of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force. The squadron crest is a red griffin which suggests strength, aggressiveness, and vigilance. Scrolls around the squadron crest display the battle honours Sargodha 65 and Karachi 71.The Griffins are considered as the PAF's most elite unit as well as its most senior.
Arshad Sami Khan was a Pakistani diplomat, civil servant and fighter pilot who at peak of his career attained the highest rank of Federal Secretary. He started his career as a Pakistan Air Force fighter pilot and later served three presidents of Pakistan as their aide-de-camp (ADC) and later went on to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he served three presidents and four prime ministers as chief of protocol. He was later appointed as a diplomatic ambassador of Pakistan to 14 countries. This was followed by his appointment as the first commissioner general of Pakistan. He was also Federal Secretary of Culture and retired as a top BPS-22 grade bureaucratic officer. He was also the father of singer and music composer Adnan Sami.
The No. 24 Electronic Warfare Squadron, nicknamed the Blinders, is an electronic warfare unit of the Pakistan Air Force equipped with DA 20EW Faclons. It is the PAF's only Electronic Warfare squadron and undertakes EW, ECM and ESM missions while also training Pilots, Air Defense controllers and engineering officers in EW environments.
Farooq Umar is a retired Pakistan Air Force air vice marshal.
No. 18 Squadron, is an air-defence unit of the Indian Air Force, flying from Naliya Air Force Station. The squadron is equipped with indigenous HAL Tejas MK1 in FOC configuration.
Imtiaz BhattiSJ SI(M) SBt in Gujrat, British India, was a cyclist and a former Air Force pilot of Pakistan. He was the Pakistan cycling champion during his student days at Punjab Agriculture College, Lyallpur in late 1940s and early 1950s. He set national cycling records and represented Pakistan in the individual and team road race events at the 1952 Summer Olympics where he was placed 1st among the Asian cyclists and 25th in the world in the 1000 m time trial. Bhatti a veteran of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 flew 34 combat missions, the maximum from Pakistan during the war and is credited with confirmed downing of two Indian planes and damaging a third, in addition to participating in raids that destroyed the Amritsar radar and various other air defence and ground support missions.
Shahid Lateef (Urdu: شاہد لطیف; HI, SI, SBt, is a retired Pakistan Air Force three-star air marshal, geostrategist and military strategist, and political commentator. Lateef is from Pakistan city of Sahiwal.
Group Captain Virendera Singh Pathania, VrC, VM, was an Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilot reputed for making the first confirmed aerial dogfight kill of independent India when he shot down a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Sabre Jet with his Folland Gnat on 4 September 1965. For this action, he was awarded the Vir Chakra.
Alauddin Ahmed SJ known as Butch or Butch Ahmed to his colleagues, was a Pakistan Air Force officer who led his squadron the No. 18 Squadron Sharp Shooters in several missions during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 attacking Indian ground and air forces.
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