Remembering Rashid Minhas on his 49th Martyrdom Anniversary
For the immense courage and loyalty he showed towards Pakistan, Shaheed Rashid Minhas was awarded the Nishan-e-Haider posthumously.
On the 49th anniversary of Shaheed Rashid Minhas’s martyrdom, Pakistan celebrates the 20 year old Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pilot officer. Rashid embraced martyrdom in 1971 to prevent a pilot from defecting to India. For the immense courage and loyalty he showed towards Pakistan, he was awarded Nishan-e-Haider posthumously.
Rashid was born in Karachi in 1951, though he spent his earlier childhood in Lahore. Later on, he shifted to Rawalpindi and then moved back to Karachi. He was 17 when he joined the PAF Academy in Risalpur as a flying cadet. In 1971, he had graduated from PAF Academy as a general duty pilot.
Details of Rashid Minhas’s Martyrdom
On August 20,1971, Rashid Minhas had been ready for his solo flight in a T-33 jet trainer – he had started his engines and had completed all the checks. While he was taxiing towards the runway, his instructor pilot signalled him to stop. Rashid had thought that his instructor pilot may have wanted to give him some last minute instruction and stopped the jet.
Seeing the chance, the instructor pilot had forced his way into the cockpit and took control of the flight. Rashid Minhas saw that the flight was directed towards India and informed the Masroor Control Tower that he was being hijacked.
Both men tried to take control of the flight and overpower one another. Around 51 km away from the Indian border, Rashid Minhas deliberately nose-dived the aircraft and crashed the jet near Thatta.
Honoring Rashid Minhas on his 49th martyrdom anniversary, the DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar tweeted:
Today we remember supreme sacrifice of Pilot officer Rashid Minhas Shaheed (Nishan-e -Haider) in the line of duty. Pilot officer Rashid Minhas lived up to great traditions of Pakistan Air Force serving the motherland.#OurMartyrsOurHeroes
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) August 19, 2020
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