Rashid Minhas martyrdom anniversary today
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muhammadali233
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Sorrow is not that Bangalis Betrayed,the sorrow is they sided with our enemy,it takes alot of guts to do what RM did,only a selfless brave person can do that to protect the sovereignty and dignity of his nation like this.
A version from the other side of the coin.
A version from the other side of the coin.
Preacher
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"Bluebird-166 is Hijacked"
"Why only a Sitara-i-Jur’at? The boy deserves nothing less than a Nishan-i-Haider,” retorted President Yahya Khan as PAF’s C-in-C, Air Marshal A Rahim Khan informed him of the hijacking incident that had taken place hours before.[1] The Air Chief, who was hosting the President at lunch in Peshawar on 20 Aug, 1971, had recommended the lesser award, but was pleased to know that the PAF was being honoured with its first Nishan-i-Haider.[2] The same day, announcement of the highest gallantry award was made. In deference to the hallowed nature of the award, the Board of Inquiry into the aircraft accident was suspended and, eventually scrapped without finalisation. The final moments of the flight of the hijacked T-33 have, therefore, been open to more than one interpretation over the years. This write-up looks at some officially recorded vital bits of evidence (indicated in bold-face text), to reconstruct what really happened.
In the aftermath of the military crackdown that started in East Pakistan on 25 March 1971, the Bengali pilots in the PAF were grounded for fear of an adverse reaction. As the situation became more complex and war clouds started gathering, it was felt prudent to withdraw the flying clothing and equipment of Bengali aircrew, with hijacking of aircraft being precisely one of the fears.
The Bengali pilots at PAF Base Masroor (Karachi), sensed the surveillance cover of Intelligence Units and agreed not to meet collectively. It was decided that a charade of friendly relations with the Base personnel would be maintained, and any kind of protest avoided to the utmost. In the meantime, short, meaningful meetings would be conducted in the course of normal activities. The consensus on hijacking an aircraft to India emerged in no time, with the underlying thought being that the incident would call world attention to the cause of Bangladesh freedom movement. It was also agreed that the backlash of the hijacking would be borne with fortitude by the remaining Bengalis.[3]
At first, the Bengalis mulled hijacking one or more F-86 Sabres, but the mere presence of a Bengali pilot on the tarmac would have been viewed with suspicion. Besides, starting up a jet aircraft without help from ground crew and support equipment was a difficult proposition. How about sneaking into an already started one – a two-seater being flown by a single pilot? The idea sounded enticing, because gullible students going for their solo missions in the T-33 at No 2 Squadron seemed easy prey. Students would surely obey any instructor’s command from outside, especially if it had something to do with aircraft safety. A visual signal for a fuel or hydraulic leak, a flat tyre, even a finger pointed generally at the aircraft would get an immediate response from the student. Chances were that the student could be sufficiently alarmed through hand signals about some external malfunction with the aircraft, and he would stop to find out more about the problem.
Flt Lt Matiur-Rehman had been an instructor in No 2 Squadron till he and his Bengali colleagues were grounded soon after the start of the counter insurgency operation in March. He was, however, given charge of the Ground Safety Officer with a mandate to check malpractices in aircraft maintenance and operations, thus authorising him to move around on the flight lines and tarmacs in an official transport. Given his affability and, his wife’s friendliness with neighbourhood ladies, Matiur-Rehman was considered the least likely of the Bengalis to arouse suspicion. He fitted the plot perfectly. Apprehensions about the safety of his wife and two daughters were allayed by his Bengali colleagues when it was decided that the family would be moved, with prior coordination, to the Indian Consulate in Karachi, before the Hijack Day.[4]
Relaxing in the squadron crew room, Minhas ordered his Mess breakfast to be heated. He could take his time to eat comfortably as he was not scheduled to fly that day, the visibility being poor for solo flying by students. Those scheduled for dual flying were busy checking their mission details, so as to prepare the briefing boards and get the pre-mission briefing from their instructors. One of them noted the scheduling officer adding Minhas’ name on the scheduling board for a ‘Solo Consolidation’ mission.[5] The change in scheduling took place as the visibility had improved and students were cleared to fly solo. This was conveyed to Minhas who was waiting for his breakfast in the Squadron tea bar. He jumped up, half-excited, half-prepared and proceeded to get the mission details. After being briefed by his instructor Flt Lt Hasan Akhtar, Minhas quickly gathered his flying gear. Breakfast had to wait, but Minhas hastily gobbled up a couple of gulaab jamans, the pilots’ favourite high-energy snack. He also shared a few swigs of a cold drink with his course-mate Plt Off Tariq Qureshi, before he headed to the flight lines to make good his 1130 hrs take-off time. “That was the last we saw of him, munching snacks on his way out,” recalls Qureshi. Preliminaries and start-up was uneventful as the T-33, with the call sign ‘Bluebird-166,’ taxied out of the main tarmac.
In the meantime Matiur-Rehman, who had earlier checked the students' flying schedule during a brief visit to the squadron, sped off in his private Opel Kadett car to the north-eastern taxi track that led out of the main tarmac. The sides of the taxi-track had thick growth of bushes, which concealed his position both from the ATC tower as well as the tarmac. As the aircraft approached, he was able to stop it on some pretext, as expected. Seeing the instructor gesturing, Minhas must have thought that some urgent instruction was to be conveyed. After all, his mission had been scheduled as an after-thought, and something might have gone amiss in the haste. He expected Matiur-Rehman to plug in his headset and talk to him on the aircraft inter-com. Not encumbered by his flying gear (parachute, anti-G suit, life jacket and helmet), Matiur-Rehman easily stepped on to the wing and slipped into the rear cockpit through the open canopy.[6]
Squatting on a seat without a parachute (which also doubled as a seat cushion), Matiur-Rehman was in an awkward position to properly control the aircraft himself.[7] To compel the student to follow his instructions would have required the threat of use of lethal force; else, the student could have turned back, or just switched-off the aircraft. A replica pistol recovered later from the wreckage explains Minhas’ predicament.[8]
At 1128 hrs, ATC Tower received Minhas’ call: “Bluebird-166 is hijacked!” In the rough-and-tumble that followed, the T-33 got airborne from Runway 27(heading 270°), at 1130 hrs. The aircraft turned left, (a non-standard turn out of traffic) and started steering 120°. It was seen to be descending down to low level and, in no time, disappeared from view. Two more frantic calls, “166 is hijacked,” were the last that were heard from the T-33.
Not sure if he had heard it right, Flt Lt Asim Rasheed, the duty ATC officer understood what was going on only when the aircraft did an abnormal turn out of traffic and ducked down very low. Asim called up the Sector Operations Sector (SOC) to inform about the unusual incident; however, when the Sector Commander started asking for details, a quick-witted Asim dropped the phone to save precious time and called up the Air Defence Alert (ADA) hut. “A T-33 is being hijacked. Scramble!” he ordered. Wg Cdr Shaikh Saleem, OC of No 19 Squadron, who had just arrived in the ADA hut after inspecting the flight lines, immediately rushed to the nearby F-86s along with his wingman, Flt Lt Kamran Qureshi. Kamran, the sprightlier of the two, got airborne first, with the leader following closely; the pair was airborne within the stipulated time. The SOC had, however, no clue about the T-33’s position as it had descended to the tree tops and was not visible on radar. In any case, about eight minutes had already elapsed since the T-33’s take-off, and the scrambled pair of F-86s would not have been able to catch up before the border, even at full speed. Some more critical time was also wasted when the F-86 pair was mistakenly vectored onto a B-57 recovering from Nawabshah after a routine mission.[9]
After a while, another pair of F-86s led by Flt Lt Abdul Wahab with Flt Lt Khalid Mahmood as his wingman, was scrambled. Wahab, who had been watching the unusual departure of the T-33 from outside the pilots’ standby hut, recalled later, “We knew something was wrong, we had seen the aircraft taxiing dangerously fast. After we got airborne, there was a lot of confusion. Nonetheless, we gave fake calls on ‘Guard’ channel that the F-86s were behind the T-33 and, it would be shot down if it did not turn back. However, with no real prospects of scaring Matiur-Rehman with warning bursts from the F-86’s guns, the only option that remained was to order Minhas to eject. A flurry of radio calls then started, asking Bluebird-166 to eject. There was no response, but the calls continued for several minutes, being repeatedly transmitted by the F-86s, as well as theSOC.”[10]
Crash site is roughly in centre of picture
The situation remained confused and it was apprehended that the hijack might have been successful. The prevailing uncertainty was cleared up in the afternoon, when a phone call was received from Shah Bandar that a plane had crashed nearby and the aircrew had not survived. The Base search and rescue helicopter was launched immediately and it was able to locate the wreckage at a distance of 64 nautical miles from Masroor, on a heading of 130°. The tail of the T-33 showing its number 56-1622 could be seen sticking out in water-logged, soft muddy terrain at the mouth of Indus River, just 32 nautical miles short of the border. Estimated time of the crash was 1143 hrs.
Minhas’ body was found still strapped in the seat, 100 yards ahead of the wreckage, while Matiur-Rehman’s body was found clear of the seat, lying further ahead. Both ejection seats had been thrown clear of the aircraft on impact and, there seemed no sign of ejection. The location of Matiur-Rehman’s body away from the ejection seat indicates that he was not strapped up, having being unable to free the stowed harnesses after he had hurriedly stormed into the cockpit.[11]
Investigators were baffled when the canopy was found to have a prominent scrape mark of the tailplane, while the tailplane was correspondingly dented by the canopy. Normally, during ejection sequence or jettison of canopy alone, the canopy would have been rocketed up and, would have cleared the tail by a wide margin (this being the very purpose of the rocket thruster). Now it seemed that the canopy had merely inched up into the airflow and had been blown into the tailplane. Could Minhas have actuated the canopy opening lever to throw the unstrapped rear seat occupant overboard, and then safely recover the aircraft?[12] A proper procedure, though, would have been to use the canopy jettison lever which would have rocketed the canopy well clear of the tailplane. In the heat of the moment, it seems that Minhas did what came naturally to him.[13]
The massive canopy hitting the elevator would have deflected it downwards, causing a sudden nose-down attitude at a precariously low height. Minhas would have then yanked back on the controls to prevent the aircraft from going into the ground. The sudden and violent pitch-up – which was confirmed by eyewitnesses – resulted in the aircraft stalling out. This is partially corroborated by the wreckage report of aircraft flaps found in the down position, implying a desperate need for vital lift to prevent stalling. The rather flat attitude in which the aircraft fell, as well as the compact spread of the wreckage, also confirms the stalled condition of the aircraft.
Confronted with a very complex situation requiring quick thinking and steel nerves, Minhas was eventually able to counter Matiur-Rehman’s cunning design. Despite having the option of ejecting safely, and in the course of action also tossing out the hijacker who did not have a parachute, Minhas ostensibly tried to save the aircraft. Sadly, the unusual attempt at opening the canopy had resulted in a chain of uncontrollable events that eventually caused the crash. Nonetheless, Minhas did manage to prevent the aircraft from being hijacked to an enemy country, laying down his life in the process. He was destined to become the youngest star on Pakistan’s firmament of valiant heroes. May Allah bless his soul and may his Nishan-i-Haider be an inspiration for the future defenders of Pakistan.
Credits: Air Cdre (R) Kaiser Tufail
"Why only a Sitara-i-Jur’at? The boy deserves nothing less than a Nishan-i-Haider,” retorted President Yahya Khan as PAF’s C-in-C, Air Marshal A Rahim Khan informed him of the hijacking incident that had taken place hours before.[1] The Air Chief, who was hosting the President at lunch in Peshawar on 20 Aug, 1971, had recommended the lesser award, but was pleased to know that the PAF was being honoured with its first Nishan-i-Haider.[2] The same day, announcement of the highest gallantry award was made. In deference to the hallowed nature of the award, the Board of Inquiry into the aircraft accident was suspended and, eventually scrapped without finalisation. The final moments of the flight of the hijacked T-33 have, therefore, been open to more than one interpretation over the years. This write-up looks at some officially recorded vital bits of evidence (indicated in bold-face text), to reconstruct what really happened.
In the aftermath of the military crackdown that started in East Pakistan on 25 March 1971, the Bengali pilots in the PAF were grounded for fear of an adverse reaction. As the situation became more complex and war clouds started gathering, it was felt prudent to withdraw the flying clothing and equipment of Bengali aircrew, with hijacking of aircraft being precisely one of the fears.
The Bengali pilots at PAF Base Masroor (Karachi), sensed the surveillance cover of Intelligence Units and agreed not to meet collectively. It was decided that a charade of friendly relations with the Base personnel would be maintained, and any kind of protest avoided to the utmost. In the meantime, short, meaningful meetings would be conducted in the course of normal activities. The consensus on hijacking an aircraft to India emerged in no time, with the underlying thought being that the incident would call world attention to the cause of Bangladesh freedom movement. It was also agreed that the backlash of the hijacking would be borne with fortitude by the remaining Bengalis.[3]
At first, the Bengalis mulled hijacking one or more F-86 Sabres, but the mere presence of a Bengali pilot on the tarmac would have been viewed with suspicion. Besides, starting up a jet aircraft without help from ground crew and support equipment was a difficult proposition. How about sneaking into an already started one – a two-seater being flown by a single pilot? The idea sounded enticing, because gullible students going for their solo missions in the T-33 at No 2 Squadron seemed easy prey. Students would surely obey any instructor’s command from outside, especially if it had something to do with aircraft safety. A visual signal for a fuel or hydraulic leak, a flat tyre, even a finger pointed generally at the aircraft would get an immediate response from the student. Chances were that the student could be sufficiently alarmed through hand signals about some external malfunction with the aircraft, and he would stop to find out more about the problem.
Flt Lt Matiur-Rehman had been an instructor in No 2 Squadron till he and his Bengali colleagues were grounded soon after the start of the counter insurgency operation in March. He was, however, given charge of the Ground Safety Officer with a mandate to check malpractices in aircraft maintenance and operations, thus authorising him to move around on the flight lines and tarmacs in an official transport. Given his affability and, his wife’s friendliness with neighbourhood ladies, Matiur-Rehman was considered the least likely of the Bengalis to arouse suspicion. He fitted the plot perfectly. Apprehensions about the safety of his wife and two daughters were allayed by his Bengali colleagues when it was decided that the family would be moved, with prior coordination, to the Indian Consulate in Karachi, before the Hijack Day.[4]
Relaxing in the squadron crew room, Minhas ordered his Mess breakfast to be heated. He could take his time to eat comfortably as he was not scheduled to fly that day, the visibility being poor for solo flying by students. Those scheduled for dual flying were busy checking their mission details, so as to prepare the briefing boards and get the pre-mission briefing from their instructors. One of them noted the scheduling officer adding Minhas’ name on the scheduling board for a ‘Solo Consolidation’ mission.[5] The change in scheduling took place as the visibility had improved and students were cleared to fly solo. This was conveyed to Minhas who was waiting for his breakfast in the Squadron tea bar. He jumped up, half-excited, half-prepared and proceeded to get the mission details. After being briefed by his instructor Flt Lt Hasan Akhtar, Minhas quickly gathered his flying gear. Breakfast had to wait, but Minhas hastily gobbled up a couple of gulaab jamans, the pilots’ favourite high-energy snack. He also shared a few swigs of a cold drink with his course-mate Plt Off Tariq Qureshi, before he headed to the flight lines to make good his 1130 hrs take-off time. “That was the last we saw of him, munching snacks on his way out,” recalls Qureshi. Preliminaries and start-up was uneventful as the T-33, with the call sign ‘Bluebird-166,’ taxied out of the main tarmac.
.png)
In the meantime Matiur-Rehman, who had earlier checked the students' flying schedule during a brief visit to the squadron, sped off in his private Opel Kadett car to the north-eastern taxi track that led out of the main tarmac. The sides of the taxi-track had thick growth of bushes, which concealed his position both from the ATC tower as well as the tarmac. As the aircraft approached, he was able to stop it on some pretext, as expected. Seeing the instructor gesturing, Minhas must have thought that some urgent instruction was to be conveyed. After all, his mission had been scheduled as an after-thought, and something might have gone amiss in the haste. He expected Matiur-Rehman to plug in his headset and talk to him on the aircraft inter-com. Not encumbered by his flying gear (parachute, anti-G suit, life jacket and helmet), Matiur-Rehman easily stepped on to the wing and slipped into the rear cockpit through the open canopy.[6]
Squatting on a seat without a parachute (which also doubled as a seat cushion), Matiur-Rehman was in an awkward position to properly control the aircraft himself.[7] To compel the student to follow his instructions would have required the threat of use of lethal force; else, the student could have turned back, or just switched-off the aircraft. A replica pistol recovered later from the wreckage explains Minhas’ predicament.[8]
At 1128 hrs, ATC Tower received Minhas’ call: “Bluebird-166 is hijacked!” In the rough-and-tumble that followed, the T-33 got airborne from Runway 27(heading 270°), at 1130 hrs. The aircraft turned left, (a non-standard turn out of traffic) and started steering 120°. It was seen to be descending down to low level and, in no time, disappeared from view. Two more frantic calls, “166 is hijacked,” were the last that were heard from the T-33.
Not sure if he had heard it right, Flt Lt Asim Rasheed, the duty ATC officer understood what was going on only when the aircraft did an abnormal turn out of traffic and ducked down very low. Asim called up the Sector Operations Sector (SOC) to inform about the unusual incident; however, when the Sector Commander started asking for details, a quick-witted Asim dropped the phone to save precious time and called up the Air Defence Alert (ADA) hut. “A T-33 is being hijacked. Scramble!” he ordered. Wg Cdr Shaikh Saleem, OC of No 19 Squadron, who had just arrived in the ADA hut after inspecting the flight lines, immediately rushed to the nearby F-86s along with his wingman, Flt Lt Kamran Qureshi. Kamran, the sprightlier of the two, got airborne first, with the leader following closely; the pair was airborne within the stipulated time. The SOC had, however, no clue about the T-33’s position as it had descended to the tree tops and was not visible on radar. In any case, about eight minutes had already elapsed since the T-33’s take-off, and the scrambled pair of F-86s would not have been able to catch up before the border, even at full speed. Some more critical time was also wasted when the F-86 pair was mistakenly vectored onto a B-57 recovering from Nawabshah after a routine mission.[9]
After a while, another pair of F-86s led by Flt Lt Abdul Wahab with Flt Lt Khalid Mahmood as his wingman, was scrambled. Wahab, who had been watching the unusual departure of the T-33 from outside the pilots’ standby hut, recalled later, “We knew something was wrong, we had seen the aircraft taxiing dangerously fast. After we got airborne, there was a lot of confusion. Nonetheless, we gave fake calls on ‘Guard’ channel that the F-86s were behind the T-33 and, it would be shot down if it did not turn back. However, with no real prospects of scaring Matiur-Rehman with warning bursts from the F-86’s guns, the only option that remained was to order Minhas to eject. A flurry of radio calls then started, asking Bluebird-166 to eject. There was no response, but the calls continued for several minutes, being repeatedly transmitted by the F-86s, as well as theSOC.”[10]
.png)
Crash site is roughly in centre of picture
The situation remained confused and it was apprehended that the hijack might have been successful. The prevailing uncertainty was cleared up in the afternoon, when a phone call was received from Shah Bandar that a plane had crashed nearby and the aircrew had not survived. The Base search and rescue helicopter was launched immediately and it was able to locate the wreckage at a distance of 64 nautical miles from Masroor, on a heading of 130°. The tail of the T-33 showing its number 56-1622 could be seen sticking out in water-logged, soft muddy terrain at the mouth of Indus River, just 32 nautical miles short of the border. Estimated time of the crash was 1143 hrs.
Minhas’ body was found still strapped in the seat, 100 yards ahead of the wreckage, while Matiur-Rehman’s body was found clear of the seat, lying further ahead. Both ejection seats had been thrown clear of the aircraft on impact and, there seemed no sign of ejection. The location of Matiur-Rehman’s body away from the ejection seat indicates that he was not strapped up, having being unable to free the stowed harnesses after he had hurriedly stormed into the cockpit.[11]
Investigators were baffled when the canopy was found to have a prominent scrape mark of the tailplane, while the tailplane was correspondingly dented by the canopy. Normally, during ejection sequence or jettison of canopy alone, the canopy would have been rocketed up and, would have cleared the tail by a wide margin (this being the very purpose of the rocket thruster). Now it seemed that the canopy had merely inched up into the airflow and had been blown into the tailplane. Could Minhas have actuated the canopy opening lever to throw the unstrapped rear seat occupant overboard, and then safely recover the aircraft?[12] A proper procedure, though, would have been to use the canopy jettison lever which would have rocketed the canopy well clear of the tailplane. In the heat of the moment, it seems that Minhas did what came naturally to him.[13]
The massive canopy hitting the elevator would have deflected it downwards, causing a sudden nose-down attitude at a precariously low height. Minhas would have then yanked back on the controls to prevent the aircraft from going into the ground. The sudden and violent pitch-up – which was confirmed by eyewitnesses – resulted in the aircraft stalling out. This is partially corroborated by the wreckage report of aircraft flaps found in the down position, implying a desperate need for vital lift to prevent stalling. The rather flat attitude in which the aircraft fell, as well as the compact spread of the wreckage, also confirms the stalled condition of the aircraft.
.png)
Confronted with a very complex situation requiring quick thinking and steel nerves, Minhas was eventually able to counter Matiur-Rehman’s cunning design. Despite having the option of ejecting safely, and in the course of action also tossing out the hijacker who did not have a parachute, Minhas ostensibly tried to save the aircraft. Sadly, the unusual attempt at opening the canopy had resulted in a chain of uncontrollable events that eventually caused the crash. Nonetheless, Minhas did manage to prevent the aircraft from being hijacked to an enemy country, laying down his life in the process. He was destined to become the youngest star on Pakistan’s firmament of valiant heroes. May Allah bless his soul and may his Nishan-i-Haider be an inspiration for the future defenders of Pakistan.
Credits: Air Cdre (R) Kaiser Tufail
Last edited:
Jf Thunder
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well, why aren't the bengalis celebrating the Martyrdom of Mati Ur Rehman then? 
muhammadali233
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they cant,they tried their best tho,they had their loyalties towards Hindus,which they regret nowadays.well, why aren't the bengalis celebrating the Martyrdom of Mati Ur Rehman then?
Jf Thunder
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didnt he give that traitor, some award? their highest award right?
GR!FF!N
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Its not only case of defection during war,right??
In Eastern Front,Bangladeshi Naval Forces captured 2 gunboats.Sadly,without knowing,IAF/IN Fighters bombed it.
https://books.google.co.in/books?id... personnel captured Pakistani warship&f=false
In Eastern Front,Bangladeshi Naval Forces captured 2 gunboats.Sadly,without knowing,IAF/IN Fighters bombed it.
https://books.google.co.in/books?id... personnel captured Pakistani warship&f=false
Al-zakir
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Looking matter from United pakistan prospective Rashid Minhas did the write thing. It was act of heroism and deserve highest honor.
I was'nt around at that time but i think East pakistan origin solders revolted because they were grounded and were not involved to defused the matter in East Pakistan. They may have done it out of anger and humiliation. Perhaps @asad71 and other professionals from that time can confirm for us.
I was'nt around at that time but i think East pakistan origin solders revolted because they were grounded and were not involved to defused the matter in East Pakistan. They may have done it out of anger and humiliation. Perhaps @asad71 and other professionals from that time can confirm for us.
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45th martyrdom anniversary of Rashid Minhas being observed today
Minhas is youngest officer who received Nishan-e-Haider award
KARACHI: The 45th martyrdom anniversary of Rashid Minhas is being observed today.
Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas was born on February 17, 1951 at Karachi. Rashid Minhas spent his early childhood in Lahore. Later, the family shifted to Rawalpindi. Minhas had his early education from St Mary’s Cambridge School Rawalpindi. Later his family shifted to Karachi. Minhas was fascinated with aviation history and technology. He used to collect different models of aircraft and jets.
Having joined the air force, Minhas was commissioned on March 13, 1971, in the 51st GD(P) Course. He began training to become a pilot. On August 20 of that year, in the hour before noon, he was getting ready to take off in a T-33 jet trainer in Karachi, his second solo flight in that type of aircraft. Minhas was taxiing toward the runway when a Bengali instructor pilot, Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman, signalled him to stop and then climbed into the instructor’s seat. The jet took off and turned toward India.
Minhas radioed PAF Base Masroor with the message that he was being hijacked. The air controller requested that he resend his message, and he confirmed the hijacking. Later investigation showed that Rahman intended to defect to India to join his compatriots in the Bangladesh Liberation War, along with the jet trainer. In the air, Minhas struggled physically to wrest control from Rahman; each man tried to overpower the other through the mechanically linked flight controls. Some 32 miles (51 km) from the Indian border, the jet crashed near Thatta. Both men were killed.
Minhas was posthumously awarded Pakistan’s top military honour, the Nishan-E-Haider, and became the youngest man and the only member of the Pakistan Air Force to win the award. After his death, Minhas was honoured as a national hero. In his memory the Pakistan Air Force base at Kamra was renamed PAF Base Minhas, often called Minhas-Kamra. In Karachi he was honoured by the naming of a main road, Rashid Minhas Road. A two-rupee postage stamp bearing his image was issued by Pakistan Post in December 2003; 500,000 were printed.
Rashid Minhas is the youngest officer who received the Nishan-e-Haider award. He is the only recipient of the highest honour of gallantry from Pakistan Air Force.
Minhas is youngest officer who received Nishan-e-Haider award
KARACHI: The 45th martyrdom anniversary of Rashid Minhas is being observed today.
Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas was born on February 17, 1951 at Karachi. Rashid Minhas spent his early childhood in Lahore. Later, the family shifted to Rawalpindi. Minhas had his early education from St Mary’s Cambridge School Rawalpindi. Later his family shifted to Karachi. Minhas was fascinated with aviation history and technology. He used to collect different models of aircraft and jets.
Having joined the air force, Minhas was commissioned on March 13, 1971, in the 51st GD(P) Course. He began training to become a pilot. On August 20 of that year, in the hour before noon, he was getting ready to take off in a T-33 jet trainer in Karachi, his second solo flight in that type of aircraft. Minhas was taxiing toward the runway when a Bengali instructor pilot, Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman, signalled him to stop and then climbed into the instructor’s seat. The jet took off and turned toward India.
Minhas radioed PAF Base Masroor with the message that he was being hijacked. The air controller requested that he resend his message, and he confirmed the hijacking. Later investigation showed that Rahman intended to defect to India to join his compatriots in the Bangladesh Liberation War, along with the jet trainer. In the air, Minhas struggled physically to wrest control from Rahman; each man tried to overpower the other through the mechanically linked flight controls. Some 32 miles (51 km) from the Indian border, the jet crashed near Thatta. Both men were killed.
Minhas was posthumously awarded Pakistan’s top military honour, the Nishan-E-Haider, and became the youngest man and the only member of the Pakistan Air Force to win the award. After his death, Minhas was honoured as a national hero. In his memory the Pakistan Air Force base at Kamra was renamed PAF Base Minhas, often called Minhas-Kamra. In Karachi he was honoured by the naming of a main road, Rashid Minhas Road. A two-rupee postage stamp bearing his image was issued by Pakistan Post in December 2003; 500,000 were printed.
Rashid Minhas is the youngest officer who received the Nishan-e-Haider award. He is the only recipient of the highest honour of gallantry from Pakistan Air Force.
Ali Sinan
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45th martyrdom anniversary of Rashid Minhas today
Last Updated On 21 August,2016 12:07 am
Rashid Minhas is the youngest officer who received the Nishan-e-Haider award.
LAHORE (Web Desk) - The 45th martyrdom anniversary of brave and courageous Rashid Minhas is being observed today (Saturday).
Rashid Minhas was born on February 17, 1951 in Karachi and had his early education from St Mary’s Cambridge School Rawalpindi. He was commissioned as Pilot Officer in Pakistan Air Force in 1971.
Minhas was taxiing toward the runway on a routine training flight when an instructor pilot, Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman, forced him to stop and seized the control of the jet. The aircraft was then took off and turned toward India.
Pilot Officer received message from PAF Base Masroor that he was being hijacked after which he tried to regain control of the plane but failed to do so.
Minhas managed to damage the control of the jet and crashed it some 32 miles (51 km) from the Indian border, near Thatta. The incident martyred Pakistani valiant officer and killed the instructor.
Rashid Minhas is the youngest officer who received the Nishan-e-Haider award. He is the only recipient of the highest honor of gallantry from Pakistan Air Force.
http://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/350024-45th-martyrdom-anniversary-of-Rashid-Minhas-today
@django @User @Imran Khan @Windjammer @Zibago
Last Updated On 21 August,2016 12:07 am
Rashid Minhas is the youngest officer who received the Nishan-e-Haider award.
LAHORE (Web Desk) - The 45th martyrdom anniversary of brave and courageous Rashid Minhas is being observed today (Saturday).
Rashid Minhas was born on February 17, 1951 in Karachi and had his early education from St Mary’s Cambridge School Rawalpindi. He was commissioned as Pilot Officer in Pakistan Air Force in 1971.
Minhas was taxiing toward the runway on a routine training flight when an instructor pilot, Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman, forced him to stop and seized the control of the jet. The aircraft was then took off and turned toward India.
Pilot Officer received message from PAF Base Masroor that he was being hijacked after which he tried to regain control of the plane but failed to do so.
Minhas managed to damage the control of the jet and crashed it some 32 miles (51 km) from the Indian border, near Thatta. The incident martyred Pakistani valiant officer and killed the instructor.
Rashid Minhas is the youngest officer who received the Nishan-e-Haider award. He is the only recipient of the highest honor of gallantry from Pakistan Air Force.
http://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/350024-45th-martyrdom-anniversary-of-Rashid-Minhas-today
@django @User @Imran Khan @Windjammer @Zibago
Windjammer
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A lot has been done to this country in terms of damage.
Valiant soldiers always fight but what an environment that was. Your own soldier tried to hijack your plane though a traitor he was called afterwards. Ethnic hatred grew so much in Bengalis and still exists.
While nothing substantial has been achieved by Bangladesh in past few years
Valiant soldiers always fight but what an environment that was. Your own soldier tried to hijack your plane though a traitor he was called afterwards. Ethnic hatred grew so much in Bengalis and still exists.
While nothing substantial has been achieved by Bangladesh in past few years
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SSGcommandoPAK
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