Abdul Razzaq Anjum

Air Vice Marshal Abdul Razzaq Anjum (25 November 1952 – 20 February 2003) was a two-star rank officer of the Pakistan Air Force who held the position of Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Training & Evaluation). He died in service in an air crash, along with Chief of Air Staff Mushaf Ali Mir, his wife Begum Bilquis Mir, Air Vice Marshal Saleem Akhtar Nawaz, Rizwan Ullah Khan, and 13 other senior air force officials and aircrew. Had he lived, he would have been considered for the position of Chief of Air Staff.

Abdul Razzaq was known for setting a new record by getting the highest marks in the Intermediate exams and in the Science/Humanities Groups from the Sargodha board. He scored 884 marks and won a Gold Medal from the Board in 1970 with this record remaining unbroken for 27 years.

In collaboration with Imran Khan, Abdul Razzaq Anjum, also a resident of Mianwali, aspired to establish a cadet college in their hometown. Their vision gained momentum when Governor Khalid Maqbool announced the establishment of the cadet college during a public gathering on 24 January 2002, followed by instructions to prepare a feasibility report. Anjum, wished to return to Mianwali after retirement and aimed to contribute to the district's development. After his death, the plan did not materialize and the college was never built.

A year after his death, the Junior Model School was renamed to Abdul Razzaq Fazaia College (ARFiC) by Commander PAF Base Mianwali Air Commodore Inamullah Khan.

Early life

Mian Abdul Razzaq Anjum was born on 25 November 1952 in Wan Bhachran to Mian Mohammad Hayat, a school teacher. Anjum has two brothers, Mian Amir Hayat a former Colonel in the Pakistan Army and Mian Muhammad Nawaz Salar.

He began his education at a local school before enrolling at PAF College Sargodha as part of the 16th Entry, attending from Class 8 to 12. Assigned Student No. 795, he resided in the Sabre House. Awarded scholarships in Class 5 and 8, he excelled academically, securing first place in the Matriculation examination. In Class 12, he topped Sargodha boards Intermediate/FSc exams with a record-breaking score of 884/1000, announced on 12 September 1970. Abdul Razzaq's record remained unbroken for 27 years until 1997.

Despite receiving scholarship offers from the American and British embassies to study in their countries, he declined and chose to join the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).

Personal life

Abdul Razzaq was married and the father of four children, two sons and two daughters. The ARFiC in its January 2019 issue, described Abdul Razzaq as a "very humble, simple, hardworking, brave, ambitious, industrious person and a real son of the soil," who was obedient to his parents and teachers. Additionally, he was an excellent soccer player during his student life at Cadet College and he contemplated joining the Pakistan men's national field hockey team but his instructors didn't allow him and forced him to go to the Air Force.

Air Force career

Abdul Razzaq was commissioned in the Pakistan Air Force on 21 April 1973 from the 55th GD(P) course at the PAF Academy. He was the top graduate for which he received the coveted Sword of Honour and the trophy for "Best Performance in Ground Subjects".

He graduated from the Combat Commanders' School, PAF Staff College, and National Defence College, Rawalpindi.

In October 1985, he was appointed the Officer Commanding No. 9 Squadron PAF. From July 1988 to February 1989, Wg Cdr Abdul Razzaq served as Officer Commanding No. 14 Squadron PAF. As Group Captain, he served as Officer Commanding Combat Commanders' School from August 1992 to March 1994.

Afterwards, he served as Director Operations and Air Staff Officer in Southern Air Command. In July 1998, Air Commodore Abdul Razzaq was appointed Base Commander PAF Base Masroor. Shortly after, he served as Personal Staff Officer to CAS of the PAF PQ Mehdi. On 30 November 2000, he was promoted to Air Vice Marshal and appointed Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Training & Evaluation).

Joint USAF/PAF Air Exercise 1978

In April 1978, the USAF and PAF held a joint exercise at PAF Base Masroor where two PAF Mirages went up against the two Americans in their F-15's. Air Commodore Jamal Hussain was the leader and Flight Lieutenant Abdul Razzaq, as the No 2 played a pivotal role. Facing the formidable F-15s, an unconventional vertical split maneuver was executed, catching the F-15s off guard. Abdul Razzaq's keen situational awareness allowed him to engage an F-15 successfully, while Jamal pursued another.

Jamal after landing met Abdul Razzaq on the tarmac, recalling that Abdul Razzaq wore a grin that "would have made the Cheshire Cat proud." "What?" Jamal asked, to which Abdul Razzaq responded, "You should see the gunshot I have exposed on the F-15," he burst out. Jamal replied with "Let's check it out" and assessed each other's camera film.

Jamal mentions that both his assertions and Abdul Razzaq's were accurate, but there was a catch. According to the ROE, the minimum safe distance during a gunshot scenario was set at 600 feet. In Abdul Razzaq's video footage, Abdul Razzaq's Mirage's gun sight was the same size as the F-15's canopy - he had approached to less than 100 feet of the F-15 and despite this his sight was "sitting pretty" and maintained a steady aim.

Jamal, astonished said, "Oh my God! Hide it. If the bosses see it, both of us would get grounded, if not worse." Abdul Razzaq added, “But don’t you agree it is a beautiful sight,” Jamal replied “I am impressed,” adding that "I just could not help marvel at the enthusiasm and ego of my irrepressible no 2."

They assessed the films, confirming both claims were valid. Despite the risk, Abdul Razzaq's daring maneuver earned them two kills in that exercise along with the USAF pilots earning the same. After Jamal and Abdul Razzaq complimented the F-15 pair on their professionalism, the F-15 leader of the USAF, dumbfounded, acknowledged the skill displayed by the two PAF pilots applauding their subterfuge and aggressive handling.

Defending Pakistani airspace during the Soviet-Afghan War

On 30 March 1987, OC No. 9 Squadron PAF Wg. Cdr. Abdul Razzaq, initiated a mission from PAF Base Sargodha aboard his F-16A alongside his No. 2 Wingman Sqn Ldr Sikandar Hayat and Ground Controller Sqn Ldr Pervaiz Ali Khan. The duo launched AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles at an Antonov An-26 military aircraft that had violated Pakistani airspace, engaged in reconnaissance. They targeted the intruder and the aircraft crashed near Miranshah. On 1 April 1987, a Foreign Office spokesman reiterated that the Afghan plane was a military plane and not a transport aircraft as alleged by the Afghan regime who contended that it was a civilian transport plane carrying 40 passengers, including two children, en route to Khost. In a declassified CIA document, it was revealed that it was indeed a military aircraft and not a civilian aircraft as claimed by the Afghan regime.

Abdul Razzaq detailed the event in his incident report to the Pakistan Air Force:

"The vector given by the controllers started the flow of adrenaline. All the preparatory actions were over in less than 30 seconds. The bandits (two of them) were reported close to Parachinar; another 30-40 miles had to be covered. Soon the controller reported that now only one bandit was violating the border. The second had turned away. When I brought the target into the TD arget Designatorbox at 3-4 NM autical miles I realized that it was a slow moving, larger aircraft. I asked for permission to shoot, which was quickly given. With an overtake rate of well over 200 knots and a low IR nfra-Redsignature; the minimum range cue was lying close to 4,000 feet. Effectively, I had no more than 1.5 second firing window available. Everything worked as conceived and with the press of the button, the missile was on its way. As I was breaking off, I saw the missile impact the target. No. 2 also released his missile, which also impacted the target. The enemy aircraft crashed on the snow-clad mountains below."

Death in air crash

On 20 February 2003, Abdul Razzaq and Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir boarded a Fokker F-27 aircraft operated by the Pakistan Air Force, along with his wife Bilquis Mir and other high-ranking officials of the Pakistan Air Force, including two other Principal Staff Officers – Air Vice Marshal Saleem Nawaz, DCAS (Administration) – and Air Commodore Rizwan Ullah Khan, from Chaklala airbase for a routine flight to Northern Air Command PAF Base Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the annual inspection of the base and to review annual preparations and readiness.

The plane lost contact from military radars at the Northern Air Command and crashed after hitting the highest peak of the mountain at the Tolanj mountain range in Kohat District due to extreme fog and winter temperature. There were no survivors.

The Government of Pakistan gave them a state funeral which was attended by 75,000+ people along with foreign dignitaries. Citizens lined the streets from Chaklala to Islamabad and as their coffins passed, many were crying openly. Mushaf Ali Mir and his wife, Bilqees Mir, were buried in Lahore. The remains of Air Vice Marshal Abdul Razzaq were taken to Mianwali; Air Commodore Rizwan Ullah Khan and Air Vice Marshal Saleem Akhter Nawaz were buried next to each other in Islamabad; Group Captain Aftab Cheema to Sargodha; Corporal Technician Amjad to Jhelum; Squadron Leader Abdul Rab to Kohat; Squadron Leader Mumtaz Kiani to Abbottabad; Senior Technician Khan Mohammad to Chontra; Senior Technician Ashraf to Chakwal; Senior Technician Ghazanfar to Gujrat; Technician Fayyaz to Swabi; and Technician Khush Qaddam Shah to Gilgit.

Following the crash, the Pakistan Air Force Flight Safety and Civil Aviation Authority (Pakistan) ruled out the "act of sabotage" and termed the incident as an accident.

Further military insights revealed in the 2015 parliamentary committee noted that the aircraft was faulty, and was first identified as such by the Pakistan Navy inspection team as early as 1993. The Pakistan Navy purchased the aircraft for reconnaissance missions before it was transferred to Pakistan Army Aviation Corps in 1993, who then transferred the plane to the Pakistan Air Force in 1994, which never reviewed the inspection protocol to assess the performance of the aircraft.

Over 10,000 people attended Abdul Razzaq's funeral at PAF Base Mianwali. He was buried at his ancestral graveyard of Pakka Ghanjera in his hometown Wan Bhachran.

Awards and decorations

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anjum, Abdul Razzaq
1952 births
2003 deaths
Pakistani aviation record holders
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Pakistan
Pakistan Air Force Academy alumni
Pakistan Air Force personnel
Pakistani aviators
PAF Air War College alumni
Recipients of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2003
Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz
Pakistani flying aces
People of the Soviet–Afghan War
National Defence University, Pakistan alumni
PAF College Sargodha alumni
People from Mianwali District
Pakistan Air Force air marshals