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| Zafar Mahmud | |
|---|---|
| ظفر محمود | |
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1923-12-04)4 December 1923 Amritsar, India |
| Died | (2016-03-20)20 March 2016 Lahore, Pakistan |
| Nationality | Pakistani (born under the British Raj in India) |
| Occupation | Air Force (RIAF 1945-1947, PAF 1947-1973), Diplomat (1974-1985) |
| Military service | |
| Years of service | 1944-1985 |
| Rank |  Air commodore |
| Battles/wars | Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 |
Zafar Mahmud (Template:Lang-ur; 4 December 1923 – 29 March 2016) was a Royal Indian Air Force officer, then an officer in the Pakistan Air Force, and later became a member of the Pakistan foreign service as an ambassador.
During the Second World War, originally stationed in Burma and subsequently stationed in Quetta (in present-day Pakistan) from 1945 to 1947 before the partition of British India. He was sent to England a number of times to train with the Royal Air Force just before and after the war.
After the partition of British India into Pakistan and India, Mahmud had the responsibility of transporting a number of fighter planes from India to Pakistan under hazardous conditions. During one such transfer flight, his fuel was contaminated by sugar by parties opposed to those transfers and the plane he was flying crashed near the India–Pakistan border. While the plane was destroyed he survived with minor injuries, destroyed his Pakistani Air Force uniform to avoid capture and sneaked across the border to Pakistan.
Zafar's career took him to the U.S. as well as with US forces occupying Okinawa in Japan. In 1956, he held the rank of Wing Commander.
Zafar served as Pakistan's Military Attaché to Turkey during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and was pivotal in helping Pakistan circumvent a U.S. embargo against arms shipments to Pakistan by working with the Turkish authorities to help supply the Pakistani military with much needed (American made) spare parts and ammunition.
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 he served as Air Secretary for the Pakistan Air Force in charge of all personnel decisions in the service. Following the war he became the Commandant of the PAF Air War College in Karachi (known previously as "The Staff College," Drigh Road).
Zafar represented the Air Force's interests in the Hamood-ur-Rahman commission that was created by the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and the breakup of the country into Pakistan and Bangladesh.
He was also part of the team that defended Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq when Zia was investigated for disobeying orders and participating in the operations of Black September in Jordan in 1970. General Zia-ul-Haq eventually went on to become the President and Military ruler of Pakistan after the 1977 Pakistani military coup.
In 1975, Zafar joined the Pakistan foreign service and served as the country's ambassador to Somalia, Poland and Czechoslovakia before retiring in 1985.
He died due to medical complications at the Combined Military Hospital Lahore on Sunday, 20 March 2016 and was buried the same day next to his wife, Najma Mahmud, who died in 1992. Survivors include his son, Shahid Mahmud and his daughter Nevin (Chandi) Ali Riaz (Mahmud) as well as seven grandchildren.
References
- "Service Record for Air Commodore Zafar Mahmud 3007 GD(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com". Bharat Rakshak.
- "Pakistan Colonel Is At Robins Observing Training Program". The Macon News. 14 October 1956.
- "Dinner Party Honors Pakistan Air Force Officer". Albuquerque Journal. 12 August 1956.
- War, Pakistan Hamoodur Rehman Commission of Inquiry into the 1971 (2000). The Report of the Hamoodur Rehman Commission of Inquiry Into the 1971 War, as Declassified by the Government of Pakistan. Vanguard. ISBN 978-969-402-351-9.
Names of the following officers, who were to act as the representatives of each of the three services, were intimated on Jan 12 1972. They were: (i) Air Commodore Zafar Mahmud, PAF; (ii)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - United States Joint Publications Research Service (14 February 1980). South and East Asia Report No. 870. Internet Archive.
- Kronika Wielkopolski (in Polish). Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe. 1985. p. 310.
- Europa (1926). The Europa Year Book 1982 A World Survey Vol.-i. p. 1005.
- "Air Commodore Zafar Mahmud Celebration of Life" – via www.youtube.com.