Air Commodore Mukhtar Ahmad Dogar

 

Born in early 1920s in village of Jhangvi, Punjab, India. He was self-educated, hailing from a humble family of farmers. Inspute of objections from his parents and family, who preferred he work in the fields, he walked 7 miles each day to school. He offered free tuition to a local household’s children on his way back from school, in exchange for a meal and time to finish his own studies, since there was no electricity in his village and he could not read/write in the dark.

He finished his schooling and joined Faisalabad Agricultural University (before partition) to receive a Bachelors in Agriculture and won gold medalist award in Mathematics. He joined the Indian Air Force as a pilot in the 40s and moved to Pakistan after partition with his wife and daughter of a few months. The journey to Pakistan was on foot and very grueling, encountering several attacks from Hindu and Sikh bands. After reaching Pakistan, he settled back Faisalabad, where he took up a job teaching in a local college.

He finally enlisted in the Pakistan Air Force and was awarded the Sitaar-e-Juraat by Ayub Khan for his bravery in a 1948 daring mission into Indian-occupied Kashmir.

Air Commodore Mukhtar Ahmad Dogar was the Pakistan Air Force bomber pilot and aerial warfare specialist who was the first military person to receive the Pakistani military award Sitara-e-Jurat. A World War II vetern, he is most known for his participation in Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 when he had interecepted the IAF fighter jets. A founding and former member of what is known now as Special Service Wing, Dogar is known to be instrument in creation of a special forces unit for the Pakistan Air Force called the Special Service Wing (SSW).

Air Force Career

Indo-Pak War of 1947

Dogar gained a commission in Royal Air Force, and was accepted into the Royal Air Force Academy in Cranwell. After he graduate from the Academy, he gained his B.S. in Aerospace studies. After his education, Dogar joined Royal Air Force, and participated in 1945 Burma Campaign as a Flying officer. After the independence of Pakistan, Flying officer Dogar opted Pakistan's nationality, and was inherited in No. 5 Squadron Falcons. He was stationed in Gilgit-Baltistan, and actively participated in Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. On November 4, 1948, Flying officer Dogar, a fighter pilot of Hawker Tempest, was operating a defenceless Hawker Tempest, nickname Dakota, in the valleys of Kashmir was attacked by two Indian Air Force (IAF) Tempest fighter aircraft and ordered to surrender and land at Srinagar. Though unarmed and unable to retaliate, the undaunted pilot refused to capitulate.

Kashmir Valley Operations

The Government of Pakistan had given orders to PAF to stay away from the conflict. Pakistan, facing with limited aircraft and the hazardous weather, was issued specific orders to PAF to not to involved in the conflict while the ground operations were understaken by the Army. In early morning of 4 November 1948, Dogar along with Flying Officer Jagjivan, took off to Skardu to drop the military load to Pakistan Army. While returning to base, the pilots had spotted the IAF's Hawker Tempests, in a covert operation. At first, Dogar believed it was the Pakistani aircraft, but the pilots had not received any early warning from the Air Force control base.

Dogar continued flying with the IAF pilots. After 15 minutes, on the radio the IAF Tempests pilots ordered Dogar and Jagjivan to go to the nearest Indian airfield but Dogar and Jagjivan took no response of the order and continued flying to Risalpur Airbase. The order was repeated three times but the PAF pilots did not respond back. Aggravated, the IAF pilots threatened to shoot Dogar and Jagjivan down if the orders aren't followed. The IAF pilots fired a free burst to show that they were armed. Dogar and Jagjivan tried to avoided to respond back as they had given orders by the Government of Pakistan. The army personnel on ground had requested the pilots to ease off. Flying Officer Alfred Jagjivan and Naik Mohammad Din, however, stood watching from the open doorway of the aircraft, blissfully unaware of what was to come to them a minute later.

At this time, one of the IAF pilot broke off, gained a little height and came in to attack. He obviously meant business now and fired a full burst of 20mm at PAF pilots, fatally wounding Naik Mohammad Din and knocking Jagjivan unconscious with a profusely bleeding arm. The encounter had lasted twenty to twenty five minutes. Flying Officer Dogar began to retaliate and wounded PAF pilot Alfred Jagjivan came to his rescue. The PAF pilots had shooted down the IAF pilots, killing all the IAF pilots in action. '

Air Commodore Dogar and Air Commodore Alfred Jagjivan was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat for his daring handling of the belligerent Indian Air Force Fighters on 4 November 1948. His Sitara-e-Jurat is the first for Pakistan Air Force.

  

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

Dogar, as Air Commodore (Brigadier-General, was serving as Air Commodore-in-Chief in PAF. Dogar had participated in Operation Gibraltar, and was an instrument creating a special forces unit within in Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Dogar was first who established and founded "Special Airwarfare Wing" (now-known as Special Service Wing), where he had served there as first Air Commodore-in-Chief. He played an important role, and headed the SAW until his retirement in 1968.