PAF honours ace pilot MM Alam, renames Mianwali air base after him

'Being peaceful does not mean withdrawing from the right of independence,' Prime Minister says.

MIANWALI: The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Base Mianwali was renamed after ace fighter pilot Air Commodore (Retd) MM Alam on Thursday.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif graced the ceremony as the chief guest, and unveiled a plaque to rename the base to “PAF Base MM Alam”. Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, was also present during the ceremony.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Minister of Information Pervaiz Rasheed, several parliamentarians, former Air Chiefs, war veterans, family members and course mates of MM Alam, and several retired and serving senior officers attended the ceremony.

As per PAF tradition, a fly past of F-16, Mirage, F-7P, K-8 and JF-17 Thunder aircraft, led by Officer Commanding Flying Wing Group Captain Fazalur Rehman Khan was presented.

“Being peaceful does not mean withdrawing from the right of independence,” the Prime Minister said. “We have to defend our political, economic and cultural sovereignty, and every necessary step would be taken to strengthen the country’s armed forces.”

“Air Commodore Muhammad Mehmood Alam is a pride of the Pakistan Air Force,” he said, adding that other servicemen and servicewomen should display the same spirit of bravery.

“For more than four decades, PAF Base Mianwali has been grooming and training fighter pilots and is rightly called the ‘Cradle of Fighter Pilots’,” said Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt. “The association of Air Commodore MM Alam’s name with the base would bear a special significance for these young Shaheens.”

To pay homage to Air Commodore MM Alam, Pakistan Post has issued a commemorative postage stamp on his first death anniversary. The stamp was also unveiled on the occasion by the Prime Minister.

During the Indo-Pak war of 1965, Air Commodore MM Alam shot down seven and damaged three Indian aircraft in air-air battles, of which five aircraft were shot down in less than 60 seconds. For this act of outstanding bravery, he was awarded the Sitara-i-Jurat, and was one of the first aces of the PAF.