M.M Alam’s 11th death anniversary being observed today

LAHORE -Today (Monday) marks the 11th death anniversary of 1965 war hero Muhammad Mahmood Alam, also known as M.M. Alam.

Alam is regarded as a national hero in Pakistan, particularly for his outstanding performance during the 1965 Pakistan-India conflict when stationed in Sargodha. During the war, he participated in several dogfights while flying his F-86 Sabre fighter. During the aerial battle, he shot down nine Indian Hawker Hunter fighters and damaged two more.

On September 7, 1965, Alam downed five Indian aircraft in less than a minute, the last four in 30 seconds, setting a world record. He downed nine aircraft in total throughout the battle.

Alam was born on July 6, 1935, to a well-educated family in Calcutta, British India, and was the eldest of eleven siblings. The family moved from Calcutta to eastern Bengal, which became East Pakistan after Pakistan was formed in 1947. He joined the then RPAF (now PAF) in 1952 and was commissioned on October 2, 1953.

His family relocated to West Pakistan in 1971, following the secession of East Pakistan.

Alam retired as an air commodore from the Pakistan Armed Forces in 1982 and settled in Karachi. Alam, 77, died in Karachi on March 18, 2013.