Air Marshal Malik Nur Khan: In this photo from 1960, PIA’s very first jetliner (a Boeing 707-321 leased from Pan Am) is taking gentle turn under the command of Malik Nur Khan. Nur Khan was PIA’s Managing Director from 1959 to 1965. His success in establishing PIA on a firm and profitable financial basis in six years is now a fact of airline history. Under his charismatic and inspirational leadership PIA became one of the leading and respected airlines of the world. Under his tenure PIA became the first Asian airline to operate jet aircraft. The airline inducted modern Boeing 720B jet in its fleet. PIA started flying to China and flights to Europe via Moscow were also launched during this period. In 1973 Nur Khan was specially requested by the government of Pakistan to resume control of PIA. During his second term as airline’s head, PIA became operator of wide-body DC-10s and Boeing 747s. Popular Green & Gold aircraft livery was introduced plus many more achievements were made by the airline under Nur Khan’s leadership. He kept PIA out of Pakistan’s turbulent political arena and returned it to a sound commercial basis. Nur Khan was a dynamic leader and believed in innovation and new ideas.
In the 1965 war with India, Flight Lieutenant Chaudhry shot down three Indian aircraft in one mission. In the 1971 war with India, he has a close call when his plane was hit over Indian territory but he managed to glide the plane back into Pakistan.
He passed away recently after a long battle against Cancer. He will be remembered by his family and Pakistanis everywhere.
A Pakistani fighter pilot who shot down an Indian civilian aircraft more than four decades ago has written to the family of the dead Indian pilot.
In his email, Qais Hussain said he was sorry for the loss of precious lives during the incident and was acting under orders from his superiors.
Mr Hussain was a young flying officer during the 1965 war between India and Pakistan.
The eight-seater plane had apparently drifted off course along the border.
The Pakistanis suspected it of being on a reconnaissance mission to open a new war front.
Mr Hussain was ordered to shoot it down, despite pleas for mercy by the plane’s pilot.
The former fighter pilot said that when he landed back at an air base at Karachi, he felt highly elated for having completed the mission.
But the mood changed later that evening when All India Radio announced that the plane had been a civilian Indian aircraft with eight people on board. (news clip)
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You can watch the video clip of the moment when Mr Qais had a video conference with the families of the people who died that day, here (at minute 12:40).
A clever photoshop of a Pakistani built JF17 fighter on a road in Pakistan. You can ignore the thing about India in the description since that is like a running joke in Pakistan.
From caption: Rare sight of a block II JF17 on a training mission crossing Chichawatni bypass. The pilot was very kind to stop by and have chai buscuit with us for a while. He told that ravelling by road was an ingenious and unorthodox approach taken by him to avoid RADAR detection would give stealth a new dimension. He would ‘drive’ the plane to border and suddenly take off on a clear road to give Indians a pleasant surprise.
Would somebody please rescue this oppressed Pakistani Muslim woman garbed in her G-Suit and lipstick, all set to fly high and kick some terrorist butt?
This blog aims at telling you the "truth" about Pakistan. Unfortunately, today the news emerging from Pakistan on the Western media are so much polarized that it gives a very unreal image of Pakistan.
At "What no one told you about Pakistan", we aim at telling you the real stories about Pakistan.
