August 20, marks the day when the pride of our Nation, Rashid Minhas embraced Shahadat in the honour of his country. He was the youngest officer to achieve the award of “Nishan-e-Haider” by then-President General Yahiya Khan. It is the highest honour of gallantry and he was the first one and in fact, remained the only member of PAF to win this award.
What actually happened on August 20?
44 years ago, when he was a pilot under training, was taxiing a T-33 Jet for take-off on a routine training flight. A Bengali pilot instructor, Lt. Mataur Rahman got into the rear cockpit by force and seized control of the aircraft. In mid-air, he headed the jet towards India.
They were just 40 miles away from Pakistan’s territory when Rashid Minhas regained control of himself and tried to retrieve the aircraft but unfortunately, he failed. Since he knew the intentions of the absconded pilot instructor, the only thing within his control was to prevent the aircraft from being taken to India.
Therefore, he damaged the controls and forced the aircraft to crash 32 miles away from the Indian border sacrificing his life in the honour of his beloved country Pakistan. Rashid Minhas was laid to rest on August 21, 1971 in the Army Graveyard. His funeral was attended by senior officials from PAF and other Armed forces, along with his family members.
Here’s the original report that was published in Dawn Newspaper on August 29, 1971.
