PESHAWAR: President General A.M. Yahya Khan today [Aug 29] announced posthumous award of Nishan-i-Haider, the highest military gallantry award, to Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas, who prevented a Pakistan Air Force Plane from being hijacked to India and made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the nation.

Pilot Officer Minhas was the first member of the Pakistan Air Force to receive this award. The first three were Major Tufail Mohammad, Capt­a­in Ghulam Sarwar and Major Aziz Bhatti of the Pakistan Army. All the three previous awards were also posthumous.

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Peshawar,] Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan, President of the Pakistan Muslim League (Qayyum Group), called on President General A.M. Yahya Khan here today [Aug 29].

… Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan disclosed that he urged the President that the Centre … must have full powers over Defence, Foreign Affairs, including foreign aid and trade, Currency and Customs, along with the right to levy taxes on the subjects entrusted to its care. …

Khan Qayyum said he had proposed … that in view of the two-nation theory and the havoc played by the minority votes in East Pakistan the constitution should provide for separate electorates because Pakistan was carved out on the basis that Muslims constituted a separate nation.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2021