From The Vault

[fatman17]

^
*The Days of Officers and Gentlemen!*

Just after the 1965 War, AM Nur Khan sent his plane to pick up AM Arjan Singh (Indian Air Chief) and fly him to Air Force House Peshawar for afternoon tea and dinner!

He also invited their common teacher Mr. Catchpole who was mediator at the dinner table while they argued over the war. *Days of simplicity, austerity and pure professionalism.*
^

Pictures

 

[fatman17]

A NOSTALGIC PHOTO.
Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah visited PMA, Kakul, in 1948, while 1st PMA Long Course was under training there.
GC Aziz Bhatti (later got Nishan-e-Haider in 1965 War) is sitting right in front of Mohtarma.
Photo Courtesy: Maj Zuha Saeed
.
@PoliticalGuru3 @Qrs94 @amnakm https://t.co/rV51226OgB

 

[fatman17]

Gen Musharraf is received by LC Amjad Shabir, 12NLI (later Brig) under the shadow of Tiger Hills deep inside enemy territory - Feb 1999. Being briefed about 12 NLI plans. COAS held an “Ijtamah“ of the brave hearts - the glorious 12 NLI (unit of Capt Sher, NH & Hav Lalak Jan, NH) https://t.co/fBdnORNuuM

 

[fatman17]

a Mi-8 transports an 105mm field gun in erstwhile East Pakistan. https://t.co/ErAGuV7De2

 

[AMRAAM]

Gen Musharraf is received by LC Amjad Shabir, 12NLI (later Brig) under the shadow of Tiger Hills deep inside enemy territory - Feb 1999. Being briefed about 12 NLI plans. COAS held an “Ijtamah“ of the brave hearts - the glorious 12 NLI (unit of Capt Sher, NH & Hav Lalak Jan, NH) https://t.co/fBdnORNuuM
View attachment 650554View attachment 650555View attachment 650556View attachment 650557

Hard to find the likes of Musharraf again.

 

[jaibi]

Sir, would it be possible for us to use your gems for social media posts? I'm asking if we could do it as a singular thread or we may need to make more threads of each post? @WebMaster @Alpha Foxtrot and @Hachiman is that possible?

Sayed Sajad Haider born Sayed Sajjad Haider

In 1976 someone suggested I knock off one "J" and that would change my life.



I did that quite against my own convention of never believing in such superstitions. Well, I am glad I did because life changed for me dramatically!



The following is an introduction to my past, my present and my future. I hope in this you will find my transparency and humble presentation enticing enough to read “Flight of the Falcon”, an autobiography about my experiences and choices.



I was born in Sargodha to noble parents; Sayed Fazal Shah, a respected doctor, and Rashida Begum, a full time mother and disciplinarian, dedicated to our good heeling. She found time to do quite bit of social work for the poor and suffering, especially Tuberculosis patients.



I grew up in Quetta, amongst the fierce tribal culture of the Baluch and Pashtoons, such as the Bugtis, Marris, Kansis, Jogezais and Durranis.



My friends comprised of the tribal chief’s children and a smattering of Sikhs and Hindus. There was incredible cross-cultural harmony. Things were much simpler then.



Like any young growing boy, I had a dream; to grow up and make my parents' life comfortable after the WW II depression because of which there was a scarcity of essential products and necessities of life.



We lived off ration cards with which we were able to get sugar, flour, tea, eggs, cooking oil, petrol, Kerosene you name it. We didn't really feel the cold drift of War as mother made many sacrifices to keep us warm and well fed.



Once the WW II catastrophe was behind, my dream started taking shape. This dream found an expression when I first saw the Quaid-e-Azam, my idol. I sat in awe of him, 6 feet away from him at my old school in Quetta.



Together with my scrawny friend, we had carried the sofa upon which the Quaid sat. That is when the seed of becoming the defender of the nation became my obsession. The uniform I would attempt to acquire was also resolved when I saw some polished pilots at Café Stanley, a famous elitist hotspot in Quetta. With their hot rod, maverick attitude on their sleeves, there was something awesome about their demeanor.



The very next day I saw three Spitfires (WW11 Fighter aircraft) over head conducting a mock dog-fight. Now my dream had reached for the sky and I wanted nothing else in life than to become a pilot. The problem was that my father wanted me to become an engineer, somewhat Utopian considering my mediocre performance in studies.



The other was a serious emotional issue of my mother who absolutely refused to let me go for a perilous profession like flying. For her that was like courting death and disaster. It was a hard long battle till she let me go, not willingly but surely tearfully.



Between the ages of 14 and 18, I was a very mischievous kid, a constant worry for my anxious mother. I would try every trick, game and ruse; testing my endurance to the limit. That meant many small injuries and parental retribution, which came swiftly and was, at times, brutal. I didn't cower down after the searing pain from the punishments. Ostensibly, I had a nature and personality that sought constant challenge, fully cognizant of the consequences if caught.



I took a trip to Makran state to visit Pasni with a few friends who didn’t tell me how far and arduous the journey would be. That was to be my first night out of my home in my life and nearly cost me my life. I was rescued after 13 days. That story will be separately chronicled in my blog under “Death in the Makran Desert”.



Soon after, my quest to join the Air Force began in earnest. I was finally selected to join the 13th General Duties Pilot Course at the Royal Pakistan Academy. The prefix ‘Royal’ denoted Pakistan's dominion status as a former Colony. I was an average student and scraped through the course of one and a half year, commencing January 1952. But within months after getting my pilot's wings I blossomed to the top of my course where I had barely made the middle during the training period.



Posted to No.14 Squadron, I discovered that my flying talent was not short lived and confined to the Fighter Conversion school where I had suddenly catapulted to the top, only second to Sarfraz Rafiqui, a comrade who was an outstanding fighter pilot and was senselessly killed in 1965 war by an inexperienced Indian Air force (IAF) pilot, in a manner resembled by the death of German Red Baron, Major Richthofen during World War I.



While at the No.14 squadron, I acquired tremendous experience of operating from Miramshah, now the battle ground of the renegade pre-Islamic Taliban and Al-Qaeda. In 1953-54 we were operating against the renegade zealot Faqir of Ipi*, who was a Pakistan hater and had turned his guns against Pakistan from the retreating British, declaring Pakistan as a country of non-believers and heretics.



I was soon posted to the first Jet Squadron of RPAF. This was a great honour to fly the “Super-marine Attacker", a euphemism for a flying coffin, which proved a great asset when the PAF switched to the USAF Saber jet.



The F-86 was like a piece of cake to fly after the attacker. My life with the No.11 Attacker squadron will be elaborated in my book, “Flight of the Falcon”, which is due for release in the spring of ’09.



Currently, I am retired and living in Islamabad with my family and grand-children by my side who are all left with my history to carry forth.



*Don't be surprised by the CDA board in Islamabad , in shear ignorance of history and the odious role of Ipi, who have honoured him with mega avenue.

 

[fatman17]

I have no objection as these are open source materials

Sir, would it be possible for us to use your gems for social media posts? I'm asking if we could do it as a singular thread or we may need to make more threads of each post? @WebMaster @Alpha Foxtrot and @Hachiman is that possible?

 

[fatman17]

Brigadier (retd.) Hafiz Ahmad

Led Bravo Squadron 25 Cavalry in 1965, winning an SJ for gallantry in combat at Gadgore, where he shot up several tanks of the 16 Light Cavalry, getting badly wounded in process, on 8 September, the opening day of the Indian I Corps offensive. https://t.co/i5mMgEzs0P

 

[fatman17]

Commanded the 8 (I) Armoured Brigade in December 1971, which suffered heavy attrition during several assaults against an enemy bridgehead across River Basantar, near Zafarwal.

The armoured corps lost an unprecedented 7 officers in just 2 days of grim battle. https://t.co/TIpslu0ckA

Brigadier (retd.) Hafiz Ahmad

Led Bravo Squadron 25 Cavalry in 1965, winning an SJ for gallantry in combat at Gadgore, where he shot up several tanks of the 16 Light Cavalry, getting badly wounded in process, on 8 September, the opening day of the Indian I Corps offensive. https://t.co/i5mMgEzs0P
View attachment 650927

 

[fatman17]

Flight Lieutenant Salim Baig Mirza
26 Sqn 'Black Spiders'
F-86F Sabre

Mirza remained the only pilot in the '71 Air War to achieve a couple of confirmed kills in air-to-air combat.

He retired as a Wing Commander.

in picture, second from left with 26 Sqn pilots at Peshawar '71. https://t.co/Zdr2D8YUoP

 

[araz]

Flight Lieutenant Salim Baig Mirza
26 Sqn 'Black Spiders'
F-86F Sabre

Mirza remained the only pilot in the '71 Air War to achieve a couple of confirmed kills in air-to-air combat.

He retired as a Wing Commander.

in picture, second from left with 26 Sqn pilots at Peshawar '71. https://t.co/Zdr2D8YUoP
View attachment 650929

Sir jee. Do you have the names of all the people in this picture?

 

[fatman17]

Shahamad Khan, the Rajput from Rawalpindi who won a Victoria Cross for his actions in WW1, in the Mesopotamian Campaign, on 12/13th April 1916, against the forces of the Ottoman Empire.

was serving as a Naik in the 89th Punjabis - existing today in the Pakistan Army as 1 BALOCH. https://t.co/kZgLshEfJE

 

[fatman17]

I'm afraid not

Sir jee. Do you have the names of all the people in this picture?

 

[fatman17]

Shahamad Khan, the Rajput from Rawalpindi who won a Victoria Cross for his actions in WW1, in the Mesopotamian Campaign, on 12/13th April 1916, against the forces of the Ottoman Empire.

was serving as a Naik in the 89th Punjabis - existing today in the Pakistan Army as 1 BALOCH. https://t.co/kZgLshEfJE
View attachment 651167

a machine-gunner in 'A' Coy at Beit Ayeesa with the Tigris Corps, he was personally responsible for repulsing several counterattacks by the Turks, as part of their attempts to deny the relief of Kut.

retired as a Honorary LT; he rests in peace at Takhti Rajgan, in the Potohar. https://t.co/jGBqBAO4C8

 

[fatman17]

The Victoria Cross of Takhti Rajgan

November 11, 2015

A Poppy in Potohar

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Lord Alfred Tennyson tells us the story of the Light Brigade that had charged the shores of Alma River in the battle of Balaklava during the 1854 Crimean War. And here I must endeavour to point out to my readers that Tennyson is not the only one telling us the tales from the campaign. The Crimean War is said to be the first armed conflict to have been covered by a correspondent and here, dear reader, we had Sir William Howard Russell from Times, and it is he who tells us of infantry charging up the heights of Alma River, the assaulting “thin red line” of the 93rd Southern Highlanders; and played a phenomenal role in reporting the gallant and brave actions of the soldiers on battlefield to the British public. It was this reporting that subsequently inspired a movement for a gallantry award, to be purely based on the specific acts of courage; an award equally open for all ranks, particularly the junior ranks for which the compensation for the hard fight was nothing but ‘brevet rank’. These were the war despatches by Sir Russell, that initiated the path for a medallion on the front lines that eventually took the shape of Victoria Cross. Named to honour the Queen, originally initiated as “the Military Order of Victoria” got changed to “Victoria Cross” through an amendment brought about by the hands of Prince Albert, we are told. We learn that it was Queen herself who took keen interest in the design and made the significant alteration of “for valour” to the motto that was originally drafted as “for the brave”. The first medals, and these were sixty two in total, were to be awarded to the selected recipients from the Crimean Campaign and these were realized in a ceremony where Queen Victoria, staying on a horseback, pinned these in person on the high held chests of all sixty two recipients; and the year, dear reader, was 1857. Victoria Cross was instituted as the highest award for gallantry awarded to the soldiers of British Army and the Forces of Commonwealth territories for displaying undaunted courage at the battlefront.

It took “the British sense of fair play” more than half a century to genuinely admire the gallantry of the natives, the Indian Soldiers fighting for the glory of Empire, and the first native award for the Victoria Cross appeared in the London Gazette on 7 December 1914. The firsts of the VCs to the natives were awarded to Darwan Singh Negi and Khudadad Khan. There were others to follow course on the path of glory and 28 Indians in total, through their valour, earned the honour of Victoria Cross, of which 9 earned the medal during the first Great War. On this page, we shall be talking about one of these war heroes from the first Great War, with the distinction of the pink ribbon on his military chest, who lies buried on the outskirts of Rawalpindi. A poppy grows in the fields of Takhti Rajgan to honour one glorious dead here.

Takhti Rajgan is a village in the neighbourhood of Rawat, a suburban annex to the town of Rawalpindi. The route to Takhti deviates from Rawat – Chak Beli Khan road after having travelled a distance of about 20 kilometers. The winding road in the low hills has a scenic landscape of the Potohar Plateau with all the calm and serenity one would long for, on a long drive out of the city. Navigating through a couple of farm houses, a seasonal stream is forded on the wheels, and there, just across, is this small village that has nothing distinguishable but two features. The first one is an old brick obelisk on a raised platform just outside the house of Raja Muhammad Riaz, and it acknowledges the contribution from Takhti Rajgan in the words:

FROM THIS VILLAGE SEVEN MEN WENT TO THE GREAT WAR 1914~1919, OF THESE ONE GAVE UP HIS LIFE.

Just a few yards away from Great War memorial, lies the second landmark, the grave of Raja Riaz’s grandfather, Honorary Lieutenant Shahamad Khan. Shahamad Khan, who, back in 1916, was a Neik in the 89th Punjabis; the famous Mcleod Ki Paltan, and was fighting in Mesopotamia. Shahamad Khan, ladies and gentlemen, who displaying an unmatched feat of valour on the banks of Tigris earned himself the highest gallantry award, the Victoria Cross.

The setting was the First Great War with the “oil reach” inspired battle grounds of Mesopotamia (present day Iraq). Towards the end of 1915, following a failed Anglo-Indian attack on Ctesiphon, the British forces under heavy Turk resistance had to withdraw to the town of Kut-Al-Amara, that in the treacherous loop of river Tigris was eventually besieged by the Turk and German forces. There were relief efforts brought in by the British, the major relief operation commencing in April of 1916 led by Sir George Gorringe. 89th Punjabis were part of this relief effort and the battle in her days was to witness a feat of gallantry by Neik Shahamad Khan. It was the British Tigris Corps that had its objective as Beit Ayeesa, around 20 miles from the besieged town of Kut-Al-Amara. An attack with two brigades was planned on April 12th, but was delayed due to weather and floods, and in the meantime by evening, Turks taking the initiative attacked the left flank. It was during the intense Turk assault that 36th Sikh on the right flank of 89th Punjabis had to retire exposing a major gap towards A Company. It was for the heroics of Neik Shahamad Khan, a machine gunner in A Company of 89th Punjabis that the exposed flank was defended, and was defended almost single-handed for more than three hours, beating back three Turk counter attacks till Connaught Rangers arrived for the relief. Shahamad Khan was phenomenal in displaying courage and determination defending the extra mile won by the British forces and was later on awarded with the highest gallantry award Victoria Cross. The Tigris Corps would go ahead to capture Beit Ayeesa and attempt some daring assaults to reach upto Kut-Al-Karma, to face the determined Turks and formidable forces of hostile weather (rain floods and mud), only to result into a heroic failure. A similar attempt in later months would follow suit forcing the British Commander at Kut-Al-Amara into an unconditional surrender. Neik Shahamad Khan won the Victoria Cross through unmatched valour in a contest that would eventually conclude to be one of the greatest humiliations for the British Army in its history.

The citation of Neik Shahamad Khan appeared in the supplement to the London Gazette on 26th September 1916:

No. 1605 Naik Shahamad Khan, Punjabis.
For most conspicuous bravery. He was in charge of a machine gun section in an exposed position, in front of and covering a gap in our new line, within 150 yards of the enemy’s entrenched position. He beat off three counter attacks and worked his gun single-handed after all his men, except two belt-fillers, had become casualties. For three hours he held the gap under very heavy fire while it was being made secure. When his gun was knocked out by hostile fire he and his two belt-fillers held their ground with rifles till ordered to withdraw. With three men sent to assist him he then brought back his gun, ammunition, and one severely wounded man unable to walk. Finally, he himself returned and removed all remaining arms and equipment except two shovels.
But for his great gallantry and determination our line must have been penetrated by the enemy.


At Takhti Rajgan, Raja Muhammad Riaz, the grandson of the legend Shahamad Khan was my host. I was warmly invited to the drawing room of the ancestral house and afforded a conversation over the cup of tea and biscuits. Neik Shahamad Khan had returned from the Mesopotamian Campaign and made it to the rank of Honorary Lieutenant. He died in July 1947, before the creation of Pakistan and is buried in Takhti. 89th Punjabis became a part of Pakistan Army as 1st Battalion, The Baloch Regiment. The VC of the soldier is on display at Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum of London. It was unfortunate that in the small village of Takhti, I could not find more about the other six soldiers who went to fight the Great War and the one who never came back. People are too forgetful right under the shades of the memorial that still stands to remind the contribution of the village to His Majesty’s War Effort.

Dear reader, in one obscured village of Pothar, a poppy grows, and blows in the air, the scent from the times, when the soldiers took up a quarrel with the foe, and with failing but firm hands passed on a torch to be held high. The legacy of the valour goes on, for the soldiers always take up a fight, and they do that with pride…

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

References
"The Charge of the Light Brigade", Lord Alfred Tennyson
"In Flanders Fields", Major John McCare, May 1915
"The British Army in Mesopotamia 1914-1918", Paul Knight, 2013
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November 11, 2015Posted inBritish Raj, Potohar - On the Plateau, Service Dress - Tales from ArmyTags:pakistan, punjab, Rawalpindi, Shahamad Khan, Takhti, The Great War, Victoria Cross, WWI