Rizwan Ullah Khan
Air Commodore Raja Rizwan Ullah Khan, affectionately known as Razi by his family and colleagues, was a one-star rank officer of the Pakistan Air Force, an author, and aeronautical engineer. He served as the Personal Staff Officer to Chief of Air Staff Mushaf Ali Mir. Rizwan Ullah was a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society of the United Kingdom and the Pakistan Engineering Council. In the 1997 TV series Shahpar, he played the role of the Officer Commanding No. 11 Squadron PAF, mirroring his real-life position at the time.
Khan died in an air crash while in service, alongside Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir, his wife Begum Bilquis Mir, Air Vice Marshals Abdul Razzaq Anjum and Saleem Akhtar Nawaz, and 13 other senior air force officials and crew.
The Air Commodore Rizwan Ullah Khan Shaheed Memorial Trust also known as Rizwan Scholars, was established by his family and friends and aims to support students from low-income backgrounds. In June 2009, the trust announced that scholarships of had been granted to 200 students, with 90 successfully graduating. The Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy awarded the trust the Nonprofit organization Certification, which has been given to few organisations in Pakistan.
Early life and education
Born on 13 August 1957 in Rawalpindi, Rizwan Ullah was the first child of Captain Abdullah Khan of the Pakistan Army and Zubaida Abdullah. Growing up on various army bases, he faced the challenges of a military upbringing. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, his father Lt Colonel Abdullah Khan was taken prisoner of war and spent three years in a POW camp.Rizwan's mother Zubaida, decided to enroll both of her sons in Cadet College Hasan Abdal. This decision along with the insightful letters regularly sent by their POW father, became a defining chapter in Rizwan's life. Later, Rizwan Ullah often shared with his children that his father's remote guidance through letters played a crucial role in shaping his personality, character, and destiny. Rizwan was in the 17th Entry of PAF College Sargodha.
At the time of Rizwan's death, his brother Imran Ullah Khan was a tanker captain in Houston, Texas and their sister Nabeela, a medical doctor, worked for Fauji Foundation.
Personal life
Rizwan married Samina Rais, the daughter of Rais Rafi Ahmad. They have four children, Andaleeb, Taimur, Sabine, and Bilal. At the time of his death, his wife Samina was the Regional Manager Oracle Corporation for South Asian countries Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal.Pakistan Air Force career
Rizwan Ullah was commissioned into the Pakistan Air Force as the top graduate of the 66th GD course at the PAF Academy, earning the prestigious Sword of Honour. He acquired his basic fighter flying skills on the Shenyang J-6.He earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerosciences from PAF College Sargodha in 1977 and graduated from the Flying Instructor's School at PAF Academy in 1982, subsequently serving as a Cessna T-37 Tweet instructor for two years. In 1987, he obtained a Bachelor of Engineering in Aerospace from the College of Aeronautical Engineering. Additionally, he had also graduated from RAF Staff College, Bracknell and earned a Master of Arts in Defence Studies from King's College London.
From July 1995 to April 1997, he commanded the No. 11 Squadron PAF. He was appointed as the Personal Staff Officer of Mushaf Ali Mir in August 2002.
Death in air crash
On 20 February 2003, Air Commodore Raja Rizwan Ullah Khan and Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir boarded a Fokker F-27 aircraft operated by the Pakistan Air Force, along with the air chief's wife Bilquis Mir and 14 senior air force officers and crew from Chaklala airbase for a routine flight to Northern Air Command PAF Base Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the annual inspection of the base and to review annual preparations and readiness.The plane lost contact with military radars at the Northern Air Command and crashed after hitting the highest peak of the mountain at the Tolanj mountain range in Kohat District due to extreme fog and winter temperature. Among the casualties were other high-ranking officials of the Pakistan Air Force, including Air Commodore Rizwan Personal Staff Officer to Mushaf Ali Mir and two Principal Staff Officers – Air Vice Marshal Abdul Razzaq Anjum, DCAS (Training & Evaluation) and Air Vice Marshal Saleem Nawaz, DCAS (Administration) – and the air crew.
The Government of Pakistan gave them a state funeral which was attended by 75,000+ people along with foreign dignitaries. Citizens lined the streets from Chaklala to Islamabad and as their coffins passed, many were crying openly. Air Commodore Raja Rizwan Ullah Khan and Air Vice Marshal Saleem Akhter Nawaz were buried next to each other in Islamabad.
The Pakistan Air Force Flight Safety and CAA ruled out sabotage and termed the crash an accident. After additional inquiries in 2015 by the air force and civilian investigations, the Government of Pakistan declared the aircraft as faulty.
Further military insights revealed in the 2015 parliamentary committee noted that the aircraft was faulty and was first identified as such by the Pakistan Navy's inspection team as early as 1993. The Pakistan Navy purchased the aircraft for reconnaissance missions before it was transferred to Pakistan Army Aviation Corps in 1993, who then transferred the plane to the Pakistan Air Force in 1994, which never reviewed the inspection protocol to assess the performance of the aircraft.