1965 war hero Daudpota passes away
KARACHI: Air Marshal Mohammad Abdul Azim Daudpota — a former governor of Sindh, 1965 war veteran and ex-chairman of the Pakistan International Airlines — died in Karachi on Monday. He was 83.
Azim Daudpota, as he was commonly known, was born on Sept 14, 1933, in an educated family of Mumbai. His family, however, originally belonged to Dadu in Sindh.
His father, Umar bin Mohammad Daudpota, was a Sindhi research scholar, linguist and historian of the Indus Valley. He was also referred to as Shams-ul-Ulema.
After schooling at St Patrick’s in Karachi, Azim Daudpota completed his higher secondary education at D.J. Science College in 1951.
He joined the Pakistan Air Force Academy at Risalpur in July of the same year. After five months of military training, he was selected for further flying training in Australia. After spending four exciting years at Point Cook Air Force Base, he returned to the PAF in 1955 and started his career as a fighter pilot.
During the 1965 war, Squadron Leader Azim Daudpota flew 15 strike and five air defence missions and was responsible for wrecking many tanks, guns and vehicles in the face of heavy enemy ground fire.
His great moment came on Sept 21, when his formation destroyed a number of enemy medium guns at the Wagah-Atari sector. He was awarded Sitara-i-Jurrat for his leadership, devotion to duty and complete disregard for personal safety. Later he was also decorated with Sitara-i-Imtiaz and Hilal-i-Imtiaz (M).
After service as a pilot and then as Squadron Commander, he attended the PAF Staff College before serving on the staff of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
After a further period of training at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London, Azim Daudpota commanded PAF bases Rafiqui and Sargodha.
In 1983, Air Marshal Daudpota was selected as the first non-local ‘Commander of Zimbabwean Air Force’ on the request of President Robert Mugabe. Daudpota served as Commander of the Air Force of Zimbabwe from July 1983 to Jan 1986. During this time, he took the responsibility of rebuilding Zimbabwe’s air force as a challenge and proved equal to the task. On successful completion of his tenure in 1986, he was awarded the second highest medal of the country, the Zimbabwe Order of Merit, by Mr Mugabe.