Sarfaraz Ahmed Rafiqui (18 July 1935 – 6 September 1965) was a Pakistani

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

. He is best known for his gallant actions in two of the aerial

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...

s during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, and is a recipient of both the

Hilal-e-Jurat The Hilal-e-Jurat ( , as if it were ''Halāl-e-Jurāt''; English: Crescent of Courage , sometimes spelled as Hilal-e-Jur'at, Hilal-e-Jurat, Hilal-i-Jurrat and Hilal-i-Juraat)Various official sources that are highly reputable spell the name of th ...

(Crescent of Courage) and the

Sitara-e-Jurat Sitara-e-Jurat (, Star of Courage) is the third highest military award of Pakistan. It was established in 1957 after Pakistan became a republic; however, it was instituted retrospectively back to 1947. It is awarded for gallantry or distinguish ...

(Star of Courage) military awards from the Government of Pakistan. He is considered as one of the most decorated officers of the

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

as he had the honour to be awarded with the second and third highest gallantry award. He was buried at

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, Pakistan.

Early life

Sarfraz Ahmed Rafiqui was born in

Rajshahi Rajshahi (, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major Urban area, urban, administrative, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi Distr ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(present-day

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

) on 18 July 1935. He had three brothers and a sister. He started his education at St. Anthony High School, Lahore, matriculating from Government High School,

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

in 1948. With the transfer of his father to Karachi, he joined

D. J. Sindh Government Science College Dayaram Jethamal Sindh Government Science College, (Urdu: ڈی جے سندھ گورنمنٹ سائنس کالج) commonly known as DJ Science College, is a public community college that is affiliated with the Board of Intermediate Education Kara ...

.Profile of Sarfaraz Ahmed Rafiqui
Fearlesswarriors.pk website, Retrieved 6 October 2021

Military career

Inspired by his elder brother "Ijaz Rafique", Sarfaraz joined the

Royal Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when requi ...

's 13th GDP course and graduated from Risalpur Academy in 1953. In 1962, he was appointed as the

Officer Commanding The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually giv ...

of the No. 14 Squadron which was based in

Tejgaon Airport BAF Base Bashar — also known as Tejgaon Airport — is a Bangladesh Air Force military base in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladesh Army also uses this military base. It is also the National Parade Square of Bangladesh. It served as the country's sole ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

(Present day Bangladesh). In 1963, he was posted at PAF Base Sargodha to lead the PAF's No. 5 Squadron which he would command until his death.

1965 War

Air battle over Chhamb

On the evening of 1 September 1965, the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

(IAF) intervened in the Chhamb Sector by sending 26 aircraft (12

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland DH100 Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteo ...

s and 14 Mystere IVs) to slow down the Pakistan Army's XII Division's

offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

against

Akhnoor Akhnoor is a town and municipal committee, near city of Jammu in Jammu district of Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It lies 28 km away from Jammu city. Akhnoor is on the bank of the Chenab River, just before it enters the ...

in response to a call for help from the Indian Army. The IAF's 45 Squadron was ordered to provide

close air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...

to Indian forces in the area. These 26 planes flying in finger-four formation strafed Pakistani positions and attacked Pakistani tanks and ground targets. The

(PAF) scrambled two F-86 Sabres, flown by S/L Sarfraz Rafiqui of No. 5 Squadron and F/L

Imtiaz Bhatti Imtiaz Bhatti (18 April 1933 – 2 July 2024) was a Pakistani cyclist and Air Force pilot and officer. Bhatti was the Pakistan cycling champion during his student days at Punjab Agriculture College, Lyallpur (now University of Agriculture, ...

of No. 15 Squadron from PAF Base Sargodha to intercept them. Though heavily outnumbered, the two pilots engaged the Indians and in the ensuing

over Chhamb, each pilots shot down two

s. Rafiqui had taken on the flight leader and wingman while Bhatti went after an element leader and element wingman. Indian Air Force vampire wreckage

India acknowledged losing four aeroplanes, all Vampires, flown by Squadron Leader Aspi Kekobad Bhagwagar (flight leader), Flight Lieutenant Vijay Madhav Joshi (element leader), Flight Lieutenant Satish Bharadwaj (element wingman) and Flight Lieutenant (later Group Captain) Shrikrishna Vishnu Phatak (wingman). Both PAF pilots were credited with two victories each and were awarded the Sitara-e-Jurrat. This dogfight was a major blow to the IAF; it had to remove all Vampires from frontline service.

Halwara airstrike and subsequent death

On 6 September 1965, in response to India's invasion of Pakistan, the Pakistan Air Force launched an aggressive

airstrike An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...

campaign on several Indian Air Force stations. Sarfaraz Rafiqui was tasked to lead a formation of three

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

s to strike the IAF's Halwara Air Base, with Flight Lieutenant Khawaja

Yunus Hussain Flight Lieutenant Yunus Hussain (1 June 1935 — 6 September 1965) was a fighter pilot, aerobatic pilot, and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officer. He shot down two Hawker Hunter aircraft of the Indian Air Force, including one piloted by Flying Offic ...

as his number 2 and Flight Lieutenant

Cecil Chaudhry Cecil Chaudhry (Urdu:; 27 August 1941 – 13 April 2012) was a Pakistani academic, human rights activist, and a veteran fighter pilot. As a flight lieutenant, he fought in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and as a squadron leader in the I ...

as his number 3. The formation took off from Sargodha and headed towards

Halwara Halwara (; ISO: ''Halawāṛā'') is a township in Punjab state in India in the Ludhiana Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224 http://164.100.161.224 › file ...

. On the way, the formation met up with Squadron Leader

Muhammad Mahmood Alam Muhammad Mahmood Alam (; ) (6 July 1935 – 18 March 2013), popularly known as M. M. Alam, was a Pakistani fighter pilot and flying ace of the Pakistan Air Force. He is officially credited with having downed five Indian fighter aircraft in ...

's formation, which was returning from an aborted raid on the IAF's

Adampur Air Force Station Adampur Airport , is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force base serving the cities of Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur in Punjab, India. It is located from Adampur town in Jalandhar district, from Jalandhar and from Hoshiarpur, and is situate ...

. Alam informed them about his encounter with four Indian

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...

s over Tarn Taran (Alam had shot down one of them, while the rest managed to escape). Rafiqui's formation continued on and reached the Halwara base in the evening, where the remaining three Hunters from the earlier encounter with MM Alam's formation were taxiing after landing. Just as Rafiqui was positioning himself for a

strafing Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such a ...

run, two IAF Hunters (flown by Flight Officers P. S. Pingale and A. R. Ghandhi) on

Combat Air Patrol Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, ...

intercepted his formation. Rafiqui quickly aborted his strafing run and engaged Pingale. He manoeuvred behind the Hunter and shot it down. Rafiqui then engaged Gandhi's Hunter, scoring several hits on the enemy plane, when suddenly his Sabre's machine guns jammed. He then radioed

and said, "Cecil, my guns have stopped firing, you have the lead." While Rafiqui was positioning himself as Cecil's

wingman A wingman (or wingmate) is the pilot of a secondary aircraft providing support or protection to a primary aircraft in a potentially dangerous situation, traditionally flying in formation to the side and slightly behind the primary craft. The t ...

, Gandhi managed to get behind Rafiqui, but failed to score any hits. Minutes later, Gandhi was shot down by Cecil as he came to Rafiqui's aid. Since the formation was low on fuel and daylight, along with Rafiqui's jammed guns, they decided to head back to base, but were suddenly bounced by two more IAF Hunters (flown by Flight Lieutenant D. N. Rathore and Flighy Officer V. K. Neb). Rathore attacked Rafiqui, while Neb engaged Younas. In the ensuing dogfight, both Rafiqui and Younas were shot down, while Cecil Chaudhry managed to escape. Rathore, who had ambushed Rafiqui, scored several hits on Rafiqui's Sabre, which suddenly banked sharply to the left and then crashed into the ground near the village of Heren, which was around six miles away from

. He was declared

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty (person), casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoner of war, prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been ...

by the Pakistan Air Force, but after his absence in

prisoner exchange A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners: prisoner of war, prisoners of war, spy, spies, hostages, etc. Sometimes, cadaver, dead bodies are involved in an exchange. Geneva Conven ...

s after the war, the PAF officially declared him as

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

. According to reports, Rafiqui is buried in an unmarked grave near

Honors and legacy

Rafiqui was posthumously awarded the Hilal-e-Jurat and the Sitara-e-Jurat. The Pakistan Air Force's third largest air base,

PAF Base Shorkot Pakistan Air Force Base Rafiqui formerly known as PAF Base Shorkot , is a Pakistan Air Force base located within the outskirts of Shorkot city in the Jhang District of Pakistan's Punjab province and around south of Islamabad. The airbase was n ...

, was renamed as PAF Base Rafiqui in his honour.Tribute: Masters of the sky
Dawn (newspaper), Published 5 September 2009, Retrieved 6 October 2021 One of the largest roads of the

Lahore Cantonment Lahore Cantonment () is a garrison located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Although the cantonment is located within Lahore City District (UC 152), it is an independent municipality under control of the Military Lands & Cantonments Department of ...

is named Sarfaraz Rafiqui Road, and Rafiqui Shaheed Road in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

is also named after him. At PAF Base Peshawar, the road on which the Rear Air Headquarters and Fazaia Degree School & College are located is named Rafiqui Lane in honour of the war hero.Another road closed in Peshawar Cantt
Dawn (newspaper), Published 16 November 2009, Retrieved 6 October 2021

Parents' gesture

The Government of Pakistan awarded 77 acres of prime agriculture land, which was bequeathed by Rafiqui's parents to the Sarfraz Rafiqui Welfare Trust.

Awards and decorations

Hilal-i-Jur'at citation

For his bold leadership displayed over Halwara, Rafiqui was awarded

Hilal-i-Jur'at The Hilal-e-Jurat ( , as if it were ''Halāl-e-Jurāt''; English: Crescent of Courage , sometimes spelled as Hilal-e-Jur'at, Hilal-e-Jurat, Hilal-i-Jurrat and Hilal-i-Juraat)Various official sources that are highly reputable spell the name of th ...

, the second highest gallantry award of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. His Hilal-i-Jur'at citation read as follows:

References

External links

Sqn Ldr Sarfraz Ahmed Rafiqui HJ, SJ , Shaheed of 1965 War
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rafiqui, Sarfaraz Ahmed 1935 births 1965 deaths Pakistan Air Force officers Pakistani military aviators Aviators killed by being shot down Pakistani military personnel killed in action Pilots of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Recipients of Sitara-e-Jurat Recipients of Hilal-i-Jur'at Pakistani people of Bengali descent St. Anthony's High School, Lahore alumni D. J. Sindh Government Science College alumni People from Rajshahi District Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in India Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1965