LAHORE: Air Marshal Nur Khan was a man of indomitable will and courage and un-impeachable integrity. He is no more and that tragedy is compounded by the fact that it is unlikely that we will have someone like him in our midst again. During his first stint as chief of PIA from 1959-65, he made the fledgling airline among the best in the world. By the time he left, it was financially strong. By the 1970s, OIA was the first Asian airline to operate jet aircraft.
During his second time as airline chief, he inducted Boeing 720B jets in the fleet and introduced new and lucrative routes to China and Europe. He did not allow politics to interfere in his work and ran the airline in the spirit of true professionalism, infusing it with innovation and new ideas.
As a valiant fighter of the Pakistan Air Force, he rose to the position of Chief of Air Staff in 1965 and with his sheer hard work and dedication, ensured that the PAF gained air superiority over Indian Air Force (which had three times as many planes) during the September 1965 War.
This is not all. His contributions to the field of sports have left a lasting legacy. He founded the Pakistan Hockey Federation in 1976 and later, headed the Pakistan Cricket Board. He was our hero, both in war and peace. May God bless his soul.
Zafar Aziz Chaudhry
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2011.
