ISLAMABAD: The 45th martyrdom anniversary of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pilot officer, Rashid Minhas, was observed on Saturday.
Rashid Minhas was born on February 17, 1951 at Karachi. He spent his early childhood in Lahore. Later, the family of Minhas shifted to Rawalpindi.
Minhas had his early education from St Mary’s Cambridge School, Rawalpindi. Later, his family shifted to Karachi. He was fascinated with aviation history and technology, as he used to collect different models of aircraft and jets.
Minhas, having joined the air force, was commissioned on March 13, 1971, in the 51st GD (P) Course, where he began training to become a pilot.
He was getting ready to take off in a T-33 jet trainer in Karachi, his second solo flight in that type of aircraft on August 20, 1971, in the hour before noon.
Minhas was taxiing towards 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 should resend his message, and he confirmed the hijacking.
Later, the investigation showed that Rahman intended to defect to India to join his compatriots in the Bangladesh Liberation War, along with the jet trainer.
Minhas struggled physically to wrest control from Rahman in the air, each man tried to overpower the other through the mechanically linked flight controls. Some 32 miles about 51 kilometres, from the Indian border, the jet crashed near Thatta. As a result of which, both men were killed.
Minhas was 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 as PAF Base Minhas often called Minhas-Kamra.
He was honoured by the naming of a main road, Rashid Minhas Road in Karachi, while Rs 2 postage stamp bearing his image was also issued by Pakistan Post in December 2003.
Rashid Minhas is the youngest officer who received the Nishan-e-Haider award. He is the only recipient of the highest honour of courage from Pakistan Air Force.
