Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Thursday paid tribute to the unmatched valour and courage of the youngest Nishan-e-Haider recipient Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas on his 49th martyrdom anniversary. The Directorate of Public Relations PAF released a short documentary for euologizing the bravery and sacrifice of Pilot Rashid Minhas Shaheed, said a PAF press release.
Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas Shaheed Nishan-I-Haider was born on February 17, 1951, the martyr of Pakistani nation and the youngest recipient of Nishan-e-Haider, Rashid Minhas (a brave son of the soil) was commissioned on March 13, 1971, in the 51st GD (P) Course as a general duty pilot in the Pakistan Air Force. ‘Minhas is the only PAF officer to receive the highest valor award, the Nishan-e-Haider till date.’
He was taxying for take-off on a training flight when an instructor pilot forced his way to rear cockpit, clutched control of the aircraft and took off. Assault by the traitor senior pilot inside the cockpit of trainer fighter plane T-33 made Minhas unconscious for a brief moment of time. When Minhas got conscious and realized that the fugitive pilot was heading towards the enemy state India, he tried to regain control but was unable to do so. Comprehending the situation, he deliberately forced the aircraft to crash 32 miles short of the border on August 20, 1971. For this act of prodigious courage he was awarded Nishan-i-Haider, the award which takes precedence over all civil and military awards of Pakistan.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said on Thursday that on the martyrdom anniversary of young Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas, the nation pays homage to him. In a tweet, he said that by sacrificing his life for his beloved homeland at an early age, he wrote a bright chapter in the history of determination and loyalty with his blood.
