Imtiaz Bhatti

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Air Commodore
Service numberPak/3757
Unit
  • No. 15 Squadron
Commands heldNo. 19 Squadron
Sitara-e-Basalat

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
flew 34 combat missions, the maximum from Pakistan during the war and is credited with confirmed downing of two Indian planes and damaging a third, in addition to participating in raids that destroyed the Amritsar radar and various other air defence and ground support missions.

Career

Service with the Air Force

After completing his

Sitara-e-Basalat by the Government of Pakistan and declared a legend by the PAF Falcons and is one of the war heroes to whom tribute is paid on Pakistan Defence Day.[2][3]

1965 war

Wreckage of one of the four Indian Vampire aircraft, which were shot down on 1 September 1965

On 1 September 1965, Sargodha Airbase was assigned an Air Defence Alert mission. Bhatti who was a

Sarfaraz Rafique commander of No. 5 Squadron, accompanied him on the mission, which started around 1700 hours.[4]
On getting airborne, they were directed by the Pakistani radar at Sakesar to the Sialkot-Chamb axis, from where they vectored to Chamb-Jaurian. Once there, the two started visual search not only for the attacking aircraft, but also for the PAF C-in-C, who was reported to be making an on-site assessment of the battle in a T-37. Bhatti first spotted two Vampires crossing 3–4,000 ft underneath and informed S/L Rafique, who immediately went after the two spotted planes. Bhatti, instead of flying as a traditional wingman, broke away and sighted more Indian aircraft. Before he could go after them, he saw two more Vampires that were trying to get into position behind Rafique. He called Rafique to break and himself took care of the other two that were following Rafique.[4]

According to the Government of Pakistan citation:

Flight Lieutenant Imtiaz Ahmad Bhatti was one of the two pilots who were on an air patrol when they were directed to intercept enemy aircraft attacking our ground forces in Chamb area. This was the first air encounter of the Indo-Pakistan War. Though heavily outnumbered, Flight Lieutenant Bhatti fought with exceptional courage and professional skill and shot down two Vampire aircraft in this engagement. This set an inspiring example for others to emulate. For his gallantry, determination and dedication to the Service he is awarded Sitara-i-Jur'at.[5]

On 13 September, in an encounter between PAF F-86 Sabres from Sargodha and IAF Gnats from No. 2 Squadron,[6] an Indian Gnat flown by Flt. Lt. A.N. Kale was shot down by Flt. Lt. Yusaf Ali Khan, although Kale managed to eject safely. The other Gnat, flown by Squadron Leader N. K. Malik, was engaged and damaged in air combat by Flt. Lt. Bhatti. The experienced Malik somehow managed to return to his base, but according to All India Radio the Gnat's pilot later died of wounds sustained during the combat while attempting to land.[7] His funeral was attended by the Indian President.[8] Yusaf Ali Khan was credited with a kill, while Bhatti was only credited with damaging a Gnat, despite later confirmation that Malik had died of his wounds and his Gnat had crashed.[9]

1971 War

After Bhatti was promoted to the rank of

Sargodha Airbase.[5]

Later years

After the war, Bhatti was given command of

No. 19 Squadron of PAF; he led the squadron from 1973 to 1974.[5]

Service with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

See also: Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Pakistan)

After leaving PAF, he served as

High Commissioner of Pakistan for Burundi, Madagascar, Malawi and Tanzania
from 1990 until 1992.

Retirement

After returning from his ambassadorial duty, he happily settled in

food crops.[citation needed
]

Awards and decorations

PAF GD(P) Badge RED (More than 3000 Flying Hours)
Sitara-e-Jurat

(Star of Courage)

Sitara-e-Imtiaz

(Military)

(Star of Excellence)

Sitara-e-Basalat

(Star of Good Conduct)

Tamgha-e-Diffa

(General Service Medal)

1.

1965 War
Clasp

2.

1971 War
Clasp

Sitara-e-Harb 1965 War

(War Star 1965)

Sitara-e-Harb 1971 War

(War Star 1971)

Tamgha-e-Jang 1965 War

(War Medal 1965)

Tamgha-e-Jang 1971 War

(War Medal 1971)

Tamgha-e-Sad Saala Jashan-e-

Wiladat-e-Quaid-e-Azam

(100th Birth Anniversary of

Muhammad Ali Jinnah)

1976

Tamgha-e-Jamhuria

(Republic Commemoration Medal)

1956

Hijri Tamgha

(Hijri Medal)

1979

Sitara-e-Jurat Citation

See also: Sitara-e-Jurat

For his actions in the 1965 war, Bhatti was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat, which is the third highest

gallantry award of Pakistan
.

Flt Lt. Imtiaz Ahmed Bhatti

15 Squadron
PAK/3757

Flight Lieuteanat Imtiaz Ahmad Bhatti was one of the two pilots who were on an air patrol when they were directed to intercept enemy aircraft attacking our ground forces in Chamb area. This was the first air encounter of the Indo-Pakistan War. Though heavily out-numbered, Flight Lieutenant Bhatti fought with exceptional courage and professional skill and shot down two Vampire aircraft in this engagement. This set an inspiring example for others to emulate. For his gallantry, determination and dedication to the Service he was awarded Sitara-i-Juraat.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Imtiaz Bhatti Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  2. ^ APP. "Defence Day celebrated with renewed pledge to defend country |". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  3. ^ Dawn. "Defence Day celebrated |". Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-9690018922
    .
  5. ^
    ASIN B0000EDYH0
    .
  6. ISBN 978-81-7304-641-4
    .
  7. ISBN 9781560985310
    .
  8. ISBN 9780711009295
    .
  9. ^ "Chronological Listing of Indian Air Force, Naval Air Force and related Losses & Ejections". October 2013. Archived from the original on 22 December 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  10. ^ "1965 GALLANTRY AWARDS". Pakistan Air Force Museum.

External links

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