AS we celebrate the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Day today (Sept 7), we must remember our war heroes and cherish their feats. Perhaps the most remarkable examples are found in those ranks whose significance was never prescribed by hierarchy, but shaped by extraordinary moments. ‘Squadron Leader’ belongs to that rare category: a rank that across generations has acquired an enduring legacy of valour.
Across wars separated by decades, the rank has repeatedly appeared to surprise.
The roots ofthatlegacyreachdeepinto the skies of 1965. Sqn-Ldr Sarfaraz Rafiqui and Sqn-Ldr Muhammad Mahmood Alam, who later retired as air-commodore, became part of two extraordinary chapters of the same air war. Rafiqui continued the fight after his guns jammed, ultimately making the supreme sacrifice. Alam produced one of the most celebrated air combat performances ever. Their stories were different, but both left an enduring imprint on the nation’s memory. In retrospeet, the 1965 war may have marked the beginning of something more than individual heroism; the emerging of a legacy of surprise associated with the rank itself.
Decades passed. Aviation changed beyond recognition. Aircraft became faster, systems got more sophisticated, and combat became dependent on technology. Then, in 2019, when the nation once more had a surprise in store for its adversary, the rank appeared again; this time on the shoulders of Sqn-Ldr Hassan Mahmood Siddiqui.
In the Marka-i-Haq, when the moment again called for the unexpected, the rank appeared once again, adorning the shoulders of a new generation of leaders.
There were at least six PAF squadron leaders who earned decorations post-war.
The pattern has become unmistakable: different decades, different technologies, different circumstances, but the same rank returning whenever history demanded that the enemy be surprised. That is the real mystique of the rank. It is guided by seniors and strengthened by the institution, but is chosen by history, again and again, to turn a leader into a hero, and a rank into a legacy. A rank is earned through service. A legacy is created by history and sealed by sacrifice. And somewhere between the roar of an engine and the silence ofthe skies, squadron leader has become more than a rank. It has become a legacy of courage, sacrifice and, indeed, surprise.
Uzma Syed Rawalpindi