National News

ISLAMABAD (APP): Today is marked with 45th death
anniversary of Flight lieutenant Rashid Minhas, who was not
only the youngest man to get Nishan-e-Haider but the shortest
serving officer too.
The Pakistan Air Force base at Kamra has been renamed
in his honour. In Karachi, he was honoured by the naming of
a main street Rashid Minhas Road after him.
On 20th August 1971, when he was getting ready to take
off in a T-33 trainer in Karachi when Instructor pilot Flight
Lieutenant Matiur Rahman forced his way into the rear cockpit,
seized control of the aircraft and took off.
In mid-air Matiur Rahman knocked Minhas out with the
intention of defecting to India.
In mid-flight Minhas regained consciousness and realized
that his plane was being hijacked. He desperately tried to
communicate to the PAF Masroor Base at 11:30 AM about his
hijacking by Matiur Rahman.
After a tussle between the two pilots, utimately the
plane crashed.
Rashid Minhas Shaheed foiled enemy designs to get
Pakistan Airforce plane to be hijacked to Indian territory.
The plane was found later, 32 km away from Indian border.
He joined air force on 13th March 1971 and was
commissioned in the 51st GD (P) Course.
Once during his training sessions at the Kamra Airbase
he was in a test flight when his T-33 started leaking oil
and he was instructed to eject and save himself but Minhas
decided that he would not let the plane crash and then
very carefully he managed to land the plane back on the
airbase.