ON Dec 12, 1949, a DC-3C Dakota of Pak Air Services flying from Lahore to Karachi crashed at Karo Jabal near Jungshahi. All 26 on board perished. Among them was Maj-Gen Muhammad Iftikhar Khan, who was a strong contender for the appointment of the first Pakistani Commander-in-Chief, pegged to succeed Gen Douglas Gracey. Another on board the plane was Brig Sher Khan, Director of Military Operations.

Their funeral prayers were held on the grounds of the Frere Hall in Karachi, and the burial was at the Armed Forces Cemetery. There were speculations at the time that the path was cleared for one of the other officers.

Regardless of the merit of the speculations, what did happen was that Ayub Khan took over. Was the air crash an act of sabotage? Did that change the course of history? It certainly led to a ban on the airline, following a series of air accidents; four of them. The probable cause was said to be the pilot’s error in terms of navigation and not following the standard procedures.

Dr Sohail Ansari
Essex, United Kingdom

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2021