KARACHI: The directorate of media affairs of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has paid homage to one of its finest fighter pilots, M.M. Alam, on his 85th birth anniversary by releasing a short documentary film, of two minutes and 27 seconds duration, on his life here on Monday.

Born on July 6, 1935 in Kolkata, Mohammad Mahmood Alam was the eldest of 11 siblings. At the time of independence, his family came to settle in East Pakistan.

M.M. Alam joined the PAF in 1953. During the 1965 war he downed nine Indian fighter jets, five of which he destroyed during a mission in his F-86 Sabre on Sept 7. Four of those five enemy jets he shot down within 30 seconds. Other than the nine destroyed, he also managed to damage two more Indian jets, a record which remains unbeaten to date.

For his courage and valour, he was decorated with the Sitara-i-Jurat twice.

Having served the PAF for 29 great years, M.M. Alam retired as Air Commodore in 1982. This role model who inspired several generations to join the armed forces died in Karachi on March 18, 2013 at the age of 77.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2020