DHA, Karachi, should perhaps, name Sunset Boulevard after him because he spent many post-retirement years in Karachi.
KARACHI: It was heartening to learn that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has renamed the PAF base in Mianwali after war hero MM Alam. Similarly, the government has also issued a commemorative stamp named after one of the greatest fighter pilots of all times. The credit for these steps goes to Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. These steps should have been taken a long time ago. However, unfortunately, our leadership wakes up only after a lot is written or spoken through newspapers or through the television.
The legendary MM Alam was no ordinary hero. He was arguably the best fighter pilot of the modern jet warfare era. This ace pilot did something in a single sortie, i.e., aerial mission in the 1965 Indo-Pak war, which had not been done by any other fighter pilot in the history of air warfare. MM Alam’s feat of courage and valour dashed any hopes that the Indians may have had of establishing ‘air superiority’ over the skies of Pakistan. He still holds the record of shooting down the maximum number of enemy airplanes in the subcontinent. Most people of my generation wanted to be like MM Alam and it was his inspiration that drew many of us towards making our careers as fighter pilots. I request the authorities concerned in all the provinces and in the federal capital to name at least one road in major cities after this war hero. DHA, Karachi, should perhaps, name the Sunset Boulevard after the great man because he spent many of his post-retirement years in Karachi and was eventually buried here after his death.
M Asif
Published in The Express Tribune, March 22nd, 2014.
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