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Flight of the Falcon: Demolishing Myths of Indo Pak Wars 1965-1971
Flight of the Falcon is about the spectacular episodes, trials and tribulations I had to face during my 28 years in the Pakistan Air Force. There is more in my story as it traverses through Pakistan's misfortunes soon after the death of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Au Jinnah. It begins with my encounter with the father of the nation, his unceremonious death followed by the murder of his legacy of unity. Ayub Khan's mid-night coup was a violation of the role the Quaid-e-Azam had bequeathed on the armed forces. The domino effect of dictatorial rule by unprofessional generals with unflattering soldiering history and self seeking corrupt politicians has finally brought Pakistan to its knees. No lessons were learnt and history keeps punishing us. What a legacy for our children to inherit, for which the nation continues to pay a price. What will it take to change our course? Every year the 1965 war is celebrated remorselessly to keep under wraps the failures of our leadership at the time. I feel cheated and enraged at the loss of the many gallant men who were martyred believing they were fighting for a sacred cause. The 1971 war was a corollary to the 1965 war and the Kargil conflict followed in the same vein. Shallow personal interests were projected as national interests by dictators. All these wars and conflicts proved to be catastrophic for the economy and security of Pakistan. Were these conflicts avoidable? If not, why were they not planned and directed with professional dexterity? Why were no lessons learnt from each disaster? Such questions have hardly been addressed candidly from fear of retribution by the powers that be.
450 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 2009
About the author
S. Sajad Haider
1 book3 followersSayed Sajad Haider, better known by his aliases as Nosey Haider and Saviour of Lahore, was a Pakistani fighter pilot andone-star rank officer in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). He is best known for leading a devastating Blitzkrieg on the Pathankot airbase in India on 6 September during the Indo-Pakistani air war of 1965. Haider personally destroyed four Indian aircraft, 11 Indian tanks and damaged another three. The formation destroyed a total of 13 Indian aircraft including 2 MiG-21s. The following day, Haider led his pilots to Srinagar Air Force Station where they destroyed another three aircraft. He was also an author, columnist, businessman, defence analyst, political commentator, and philanthropist.
Haider's career was marked by a series of significant events, three of which stood out due to false accusations and defiance against military rule. The initial incident involved unfounded charges of treason and mutiny amid an alleged coup against President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's regime in 1973. Crucially, the coup charges were exposed as manipulated accusations orchestrated by Chief of Air Staff Zafar Chaudhry who was later fired, his deputy Saeedullah Khan and Khaqan Abbasi. This orchestrated effort also targeted and implicated 13 other PAF officers. Sajad and the rest of the officers were eventually exonerated. The second instance transpired in Washington, D.C., where an American corporate executive offered him a bribe. Sajad refused and told him, "Get out of my office. I will have your company blacklisted," the executive was fired after the head of the company found out and personally apologized to Sajad. Subsequently, a SAVAK operative in the Iranian embassy with a direct hotline to The Shah of Iran, had fabricated a lie with the help of the American, alleging that Sajad had defamed the Shah, resulting in diplomatic tensions between Pakistan-Iran, with the Shah requesting President Bhutto to remove him from his position. Afterwards, it was revealed that the executive along with several Pakistani, Iranian, and Americans created the lie as they wanted to make money from shady defence deals being offered to the Pakistan Air Force.
Reflecting on his time in the air force, Sajad writes that the Americans coerced President Ayub Khan to let them establish a spy base at Badaber in Peshawar where Lockheed U-2 fighter planes operated from. That to Sajad is the beginning of Pakistanis taking American dictation, "We traded our sovereignty for preservation of a dictator (Field Marshal Ayub Khan) and we've never looked back. The Americans have always let down Pakistan." He further states that he was very close friends with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto but would never forgive him for his role in the separation of East Pakistan.
Sajad Haider retired from the PAF in 1980 following an act of dissent against President General Zia-ul-Haq and his authoritarian regime. During a top-secret address at the GHQ (Pakistan) in November 1979, where Zia outlined the continued military rule, Haider seized the moment to express his concerns when Zia hesitantly allowed him to speak. He criticized the intelligence agencies for manipulating the truth, highlighted the stifled press, and conveyed his disillusionment with the military's conduct towards civilians. Despite warnings from colleagues about the consequences, Haider chose to speak out to Zia-ul-Haq's face. Unwilling to serve under Zia's rule, he opted to retire, leaving behind a distinguished career and embarking on a new life with minimal resources. Haider remained engaged in advocating for the PAF's well-being while candidly critiquing its policies, emphasizing his passion for the institution despite the challenges he had faced towards the end of his career.
After retirement, he started his own defence, aviation and communication company, Cormorant. He decided to shut it down in 1990, after being targeted and offered kickbacks by two Pakistan Army generals of the Defen
Haider's career was marked by a series of significant events, three of which stood out due to false accusations and defiance against military rule. The initial incident involved unfounded charges of treason and mutiny amid an alleged coup against President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's regime in 1973. Crucially, the coup charges were exposed as manipulated accusations orchestrated by Chief of Air Staff Zafar Chaudhry who was later fired, his deputy Saeedullah Khan and Khaqan Abbasi. This orchestrated effort also targeted and implicated 13 other PAF officers. Sajad and the rest of the officers were eventually exonerated. The second instance transpired in Washington, D.C., where an American corporate executive offered him a bribe. Sajad refused and told him, "Get out of my office. I will have your company blacklisted," the executive was fired after the head of the company found out and personally apologized to Sajad. Subsequently, a SAVAK operative in the Iranian embassy with a direct hotline to The Shah of Iran, had fabricated a lie with the help of the American, alleging that Sajad had defamed the Shah, resulting in diplomatic tensions between Pakistan-Iran, with the Shah requesting President Bhutto to remove him from his position. Afterwards, it was revealed that the executive along with several Pakistani, Iranian, and Americans created the lie as they wanted to make money from shady defence deals being offered to the Pakistan Air Force.
Reflecting on his time in the air force, Sajad writes that the Americans coerced President Ayub Khan to let them establish a spy base at Badaber in Peshawar where Lockheed U-2 fighter planes operated from. That to Sajad is the beginning of Pakistanis taking American dictation, "We traded our sovereignty for preservation of a dictator (Field Marshal Ayub Khan) and we've never looked back. The Americans have always let down Pakistan." He further states that he was very close friends with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto but would never forgive him for his role in the separation of East Pakistan.
Sajad Haider retired from the PAF in 1980 following an act of dissent against President General Zia-ul-Haq and his authoritarian regime. During a top-secret address at the GHQ (Pakistan) in November 1979, where Zia outlined the continued military rule, Haider seized the moment to express his concerns when Zia hesitantly allowed him to speak. He criticized the intelligence agencies for manipulating the truth, highlighted the stifled press, and conveyed his disillusionment with the military's conduct towards civilians. Despite warnings from colleagues about the consequences, Haider chose to speak out to Zia-ul-Haq's face. Unwilling to serve under Zia's rule, he opted to retire, leaving behind a distinguished career and embarking on a new life with minimal resources. Haider remained engaged in advocating for the PAF's well-being while candidly critiquing its policies, emphasizing his passion for the institution despite the challenges he had faced towards the end of his career.
After retirement, he started his own defence, aviation and communication company, Cormorant. He decided to shut it down in 1990, after being targeted and offered kickbacks by two Pakistan Army generals of the Defen
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 28, 2019
What an incredible life to live.
To serve in the Airforce known to be second to none; trials, tribulations, coups, military dictatorship, toppling of civilian governments, Cold War, and basically everything Pakistan has to go through since its birth.
Every year, the 1965 war is celebrated remorselessly to keep under the wraps the failures of our leadership at the time. The writer has given an unbiased, historically well researched account of who pushed us into the devastation of wars and what was the outcome. While reading, I was constantly thinking how brutally history has been murdered by the ruthless and power hungry dictators, to the point of fulfilment of their own political agendas and personal vendettas.
The beautiful thing about the book is the description of airstrikes led by author’s squadron during 1965 and 1971 wars. The birth of an Airforce and its nurturing and nourishment by it’s founding fathers Asghar Khan, Nur Khan, and Rahim Khan is really something to look upon. To my own shameless ignorance about much part of the history, It was really painful to read how PAF got under a chief, who brutally dismissed the standards set by its forefathers, indulging in witch-hunting of highly professional officers and purposefully involving them in the conspiracy of overthrowing ZAB, making it a matter of personal prestige. I had never known this darkest chapter of PAF’s history, who left it shaken and its morale in smithereens.
Although, the book cleared much of my misconceptions about a large part of Pakistan’s history, I still ached for the story of genocide of Bengalis by Pakistani Army in 1971, to read; but to my sheer disappointment, it wasn’t anywhere in the 1971 war section.
To serve in the Airforce known to be second to none; trials, tribulations, coups, military dictatorship, toppling of civilian governments, Cold War, and basically everything Pakistan has to go through since its birth.
Every year, the 1965 war is celebrated remorselessly to keep under the wraps the failures of our leadership at the time. The writer has given an unbiased, historically well researched account of who pushed us into the devastation of wars and what was the outcome. While reading, I was constantly thinking how brutally history has been murdered by the ruthless and power hungry dictators, to the point of fulfilment of their own political agendas and personal vendettas.
The beautiful thing about the book is the description of airstrikes led by author’s squadron during 1965 and 1971 wars. The birth of an Airforce and its nurturing and nourishment by it’s founding fathers Asghar Khan, Nur Khan, and Rahim Khan is really something to look upon. To my own shameless ignorance about much part of the history, It was really painful to read how PAF got under a chief, who brutally dismissed the standards set by its forefathers, indulging in witch-hunting of highly professional officers and purposefully involving them in the conspiracy of overthrowing ZAB, making it a matter of personal prestige. I had never known this darkest chapter of PAF’s history, who left it shaken and its morale in smithereens.
Although, the book cleared much of my misconceptions about a large part of Pakistan’s history, I still ached for the story of genocide of Bengalis by Pakistani Army in 1971, to read; but to my sheer disappointment, it wasn’t anywhere in the 1971 war section.
June 7, 2019
Air Cdre Haider (the author) of the PAF has penned an autobiography that is worthy of reading for every student of Indo-Pak military history and those Indians that want a peek into the Pakistani armed forces personnel psyche. The details of the engagements during '65 and '71 wars are a pleasure to read. It brings to fore the hardships faced by the pilots of both the countries in the discharge of their duties. The naming of the book explicitly mentions the wars, but the portion actually dealing with the wars is only about a quarter of the book, which is quite understandable as it is an autobiography.
While I am no judge of veracity the operational figures including kills and casualties made by the author, his attitude towards Indians is a far cry of what is expected of an officer of a professional fighting force. He regularly mentions about India wanting to destroy Pakistan, whereas history has repeatedly stood witness to the fact that Pakistan itself initiated the wars with India. He even denigrates the Hindus as the Trojan horse that destroyed Pakistan and lays the failure of Pakistanis to evolve a stable government at the feet of a few quislings backed by Hindu political power brokers without providing a shred of evidence.
While prejudice towards an enemy nation is quite understandable, the failure of the author to mention even in passing the genocide carried out by the Pakistani Army in Bangladesh is reprehensible.
The public naming and shaming of various agents engaging in corruption in Pakistani defence deals is no doubt courageous, but makes for very tedious reading. This and the details of author's court martial occupies the latter third of the book.
The dissimulation of truth by Pakistanis regarding the Kashmir question and their enmity with India is famous, but to claim a book as demolishing myths while simultaneously propagating some falsities reeks of hypocrisy.
While I am no judge of veracity the operational figures including kills and casualties made by the author, his attitude towards Indians is a far cry of what is expected of an officer of a professional fighting force. He regularly mentions about India wanting to destroy Pakistan, whereas history has repeatedly stood witness to the fact that Pakistan itself initiated the wars with India. He even denigrates the Hindus as the Trojan horse that destroyed Pakistan and lays the failure of Pakistanis to evolve a stable government at the feet of a few quislings backed by Hindu political power brokers without providing a shred of evidence.
While prejudice towards an enemy nation is quite understandable, the failure of the author to mention even in passing the genocide carried out by the Pakistani Army in Bangladesh is reprehensible.
The public naming and shaming of various agents engaging in corruption in Pakistani defence deals is no doubt courageous, but makes for very tedious reading. This and the details of author's court martial occupies the latter third of the book.
The dissimulation of truth by Pakistanis regarding the Kashmir question and their enmity with India is famous, but to claim a book as demolishing myths while simultaneously propagating some falsities reeks of hypocrisy.
April 28, 2020
Sir Haider story, blunt and true to the point. His was the most successful squadron in 1965 war, speaks of his managerial and leadership qualities.
A good history of the war time.
A good history of the war time.
June 12, 2019
Excellent Book for history of Pakistan Air Force. A true glimpse of the life of the fighter pilot who went into the war for defense of his homeland. Also a good insight into Pakistani history due to political links of the author with politicians of that time. Really impressed.
September 21, 2018
This book is an honest account of the 65, 71 wars by Mr. Sajad Haider. He served into PAF and participated in both wars from Pakistan's air wing side.
The thing that made me like this book was the writer's non biased account of both wars. He explained the political as well as military aspects of wars and accounted many events unheard before.
The writer also mentioned his early days into the air wing of Pakistan.
I would recommend this book to any air enthusiast to read this book.
The thing that made me like this book was the writer's non biased account of both wars. He explained the political as well as military aspects of wars and accounted many events unheard before.
The writer also mentioned his early days into the air wing of Pakistan.
I would recommend this book to any air enthusiast to read this book.
January 22, 2020
a different perspective
the book has good details of PAF and its history. one place where i feel bit confused was the opinion of author regarding 1965 war. at a particular place he disagreed about the need of 1965 war and on other places, he critisise Pakistani leadership for not getting full benifits from war.
the book has good details of PAF and its history. one place where i feel bit confused was the opinion of author regarding 1965 war. at a particular place he disagreed about the need of 1965 war and on other places, he critisise Pakistani leadership for not getting full benifits from war.
August 12, 2019
It was an interesting read. But it is an one sided affair. But it shows what is happening in Pakistan.
That is nation is bound to be under the control of religious fanatics and military. It will be always controlled by China or US. It will never be independent and democracy will never survive.
That is nation is bound to be under the control of religious fanatics and military. It will be always controlled by China or US. It will never be independent and democracy will never survive.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews