Saiful Azam
Bangladeshi fighter pilot / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Saiful Azam (Bengali: সাইফুল আজম; (Urdu: سیف العظم; 11 September 1941 – 14 June 2020) was a Pakistani, and then Bangladeshi fighter pilot, (after 1971 Pakistan-India war) ace, and politician who first served as a fighter pilot for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (1960–1971) and later the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) (1971–1979).[3] According to Pakistani sources, during his career as PAF pilot, he shot down one Indian Air Force (IAF) and four Israel Air Force (IAF) aircraft. For his actions, he received various gallantry awards from Pakistan, Jordan and Iraq.[3] He also took part in 12 ground-attack missions against the Indian forces.[4] After the liberation of Bangladesh, he joined the newly formed Bangladesh Air Force.[2]
Saiful Azam | |
---|---|
Native name | সাইফুল আজম |
Born | 11 September 1941 Faridpur, Bengal, British India (now Rajshahi, Bangladesh) |
Died | 14 June 2020 (aged 79) CMH, Dhaka, Bangladesh |
Buried | |
Allegiance | Pakistan (before 1971) Bangladesh |
Service/ | Pakistan Air Force Bangladesh Air Force |
Years of service | 1960–1979 |
Rank | Group Captain |
Unit | No. 17 Squadron |
Battles/wars | Indo-Pak War of 1965 Six-Days War Bangladesh Liberation War |
Awards | Sitara-e-Jurat[2] Wisam al-Istiqlal[2] Nawt as-Shaja'ah (by Iraq in 2005)[2] Honoured as an "Eagle" by the Gathering of Eagles Foundation, United States. |
Member of Parliament for Pabna-3 | |
In office 1991–1996 | |
Preceded by | AKM Shamsuddin |
Succeeded by | Wazi Uddin Khan |
Personal details | |
Political party | Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) |
In 1980, Azam retired as a Group Captain from Bangladesh Air Force. After retiring from the military, Azam continued government service on contract basis and started his own private trading firm. Azam was a one term parliament member (1991-1996) representing his hometown seat of Pabna in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) ticket.[2] He died on 14 June 2020 at 13:00 hours at the Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka.