Never in the history of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few” So said Winston Churchill during the battle of Britain paying tribute to valiant fighter pilots of the Royal Air force. During the 1965 war the “so many” were the people of Pakistan and the “so few” were brave lads of the Pakistan Air Force. Standing out conspicuously among this elite group of national heroes was Squadron Leader M.M. Alam.

The mighty juggernaut of the Indian armed forces rolled across the international border in the early hours of August 6th 1965 spitting fire and brimstone and leaving death and destruction in its wake. The hour of trial for the nation had begun. It was a fight for survival and the only forces arrayed against this ferocious tidal wave were armor and air force. The Indian advance was blunted and the rest is History.

The infamous strategic blunder, tactical mistake and political folly “Operation Gibraltar” was launched on 7th August 65 thus provoking India to launch a full scale war against Pakistan. PAF tasted victory for the first time on 01 September when two F-86 Sabers shot down four enemy aircraft giving a bloody nose to the much superior Indian air force. Account for the PAF was opened by Squadron Leaders Sarfraz Rafiqui and Imtiaz Bhatti.

Slightly built, quiet, unassuming and painfully modest carved a name for himself in history by the remarkable feat of shooting down five enemy aircraft in a single sortie over the skies of........

© Pakistan Observer