Having lost her loving husband on the very first night of the 17-day Indo-Pak war of 1965, Shahnaz Alam is a woman on a mission: she wants military recognition for the selfless valour of her husband, Sqn Ldr Shabbir Alam Siddiqui, who was then flying with Pakistan Air Force’s No. 8 Squadron of 31 Bomber Wing at Mauripur (Masroor) base.

“On the morning of Sept 6, he left for the squadron earlier than usual. After Ayub Khan’s speech, he came back to explain that he’d be away for an important night mission,” recalls Shahnaz, who has only recently returned to Karachi from Sydney, where she is based.

Shabbir advised then 21-year-old Shahnaz where to take cover with their children, one-year-old Adnan, and five-week-old Saqib, in case there was an air strike on the base. “Seeing his cheerful attitude, the thought that it could be the last time I was seeing him didn’t cross my mind even for a second.”

From dusk that day till dawn the next morning, the young pilot flew three bombing missions over the airfield at Jamnagar in India, but did not return from the third. He and his companion, Sqn Ldr Aslam Qureshi, the navigator of the B-57 bomber aircraft, were both declared missing in action.

Two wartime widows of the 1965 war return to seek the recognition that their martyred husbands’ valour commands

“According to Alam’s colleagues and official records, the third flight was assigned to another senior officer, who for some reason backed out so Alam and Aslam volunteered to go on this additional mission,” recalls Shahnaz. “For many years afterwards I was haunted by the thought that what if Alam was still languishing as a POW while I was trying to lead a normal life…?”

It wasn’t until decades later that research revealed various facts and the true significance of this fateful mission. When this B-57 bomber showed up above the airfield, fiercely descending to attack, eight Seahawk aircraft of Indian Navy Air Squadron were preparing for a strike on PAF’s main radar at Badin.

The accounts of Rear Admiral (Retd) Satyindra Singh of Indian Navy in his book Blueprint to Bluewater state: ‘Had the eight Seahawk aircraft at Jamnagar been allowed to bomb the ‘seeing eye’ of PAF and its air defence establishment at Badin (…) on the morning of Sept 7 as had been scheduled, the war would have been over much earlier and (Indian) aircraft losses would have been minimised.’

Aslam Qureshi’s wife, Parveen Qureshi, only has pride in her tone. Parveen now lives in London but like Shahnaz, she too is seeking for her martyred husband.

“We are extremely proud that Aslam and Alam were lost while carrying out their duty and prevented the Indian strike planned against Badin at dawn on Sept 7, 1965.” In doing so however, the crew came under fierce anti-aircraft fire which hit their bomber and they crashed in flames near the airfield.

The crew laid down their lives on a “volunteered mission,” going “above and beyond the call of duty”, “displaying utter disregard for personal safety”, “In an act of selfless devotion to duty”, and “living up to the highest traditions of their service” — fulfilling all criteria for gallantry award citations recurrent across nations and services, including the Nishan-i-Haider, Victoria Cross and Medal of Honour.

Their example on the very first night of the war set the bar high. Yet, despite their ultimate sacrifice and an impressive combination of selfless devotion and valour, they remain undecorated and their feats unrecognised while many of their colleagues went on to receive Sitara-i-Jurat, Pakistan’s third highest gallantry award.

For 50 years, Shahnaz and Parveen have hoped and prayed that their husbands’ sacrifice will be recognised at par with other decorated war heroes of Pakistan. “All we seek is the traditional military decoration, and no monetary reward of any sort,” Shahnaz reiterates.

“The enemy rarely acknowledges the mission and valour of their opponent’s officers and men,” says Aslam Qureshi’s son Barrister Adnan Qureshi. “Since the Indian Air Force has recognised the facts and significance of my father and his colleague’s mission in 2006, our nation must proudly decorate these unsung heroes of the ’65 war.”

Adding to the argument, his namesake Adnan Siddiqui, son of Alam Siddiqui, himself a commercial pilot, says “There is no time limit on recognising valour in battle. This year US President Obama awarded Medal of Honour to two soldiers for their heroism during WWI — almost 100 years later!”

Indeed, a hero must always be honoured. We were fortunate to have had two such heroes that fateful night.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, September 25th, 2015

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