Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi

Air Chief Marshal Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) SBt (born 1 October 1943) best known as PQ Mehdi, is a retired four-star air officer and former fighter pilot who served as the eighth Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the Pakistan Air Force from 1997 until his retirement in 2000.

Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi was born in Phalia, Punjab, into a Punjabi family on 1 October 1943.

After graduating from a local high school, Mehdi joined the Pakistan Air Force in 1961, and shared a room with Pervez Musharraf and Aziz Mirza, who became his lifelong friends.

After their interview with the local commandants, Mehdi, Musharraf, and Mirza went to see the acclaimed Urdu movie Savera (lit. Dawn).

The next day, all three were notified to report back to their respective academies for training.

Mehdi enrolled in the Pakistan Air Force Academy in Risalpur, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and passed out in the class of the 38th GD Pilot course, where he was also conferred with the Sword of Honour by the Commandant of the Air Force Academy in 1964.

After being commissioned and assigned to No. 16 Squadron Black Panthers as a pilot officer, he qualified as a fighter pilot, flying the F-86 Sabre jet.

In 1965, Pilot Officer Mehdi participated in close air support combat operations during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965, where he flew his Sabre against Indian Folland Gnats.

After the war, Mehdi was promoted to flying officer in 1966 and flight-lieutenant in 1969.

In 1969, Flight-Lieutenant Mehdi was then dispatched to serve in the Dacca airbase of the Pakistan Air Force in East Pakistan, serving in No. 14 Squadron Tail choppers.

In 1970, Mehdi took over the command of a flight of the squadron, stationed at Dacca airbase.

In 1971, Mehdi participated in the air operations in East Pakistan against the Indian Army and the insurgent group it supported, Mukti Bahini.

On 22 November 1971, Mehdi flew a combat mission in his F-86 Sabre in support of operation in Garibpur against the Indian Air Force.

He was flying with a finger-four formation of the ground attack/bomber unit near the town of Garibpur, when his F-86 Sabre was shot down by a Folland Gnat piloted by Fg Off Donald Lazarus of 22 Squadron IAF.

His wingman, F/Off Khalil Ahmad also suffered a similar fate, and was captured by Indian troops.

Flight Lieutenant Mehdi parachuted down to 50 yards behind the Chaugachha Upazila, where he was captured by Indian Army soldiers; he was physically attacked by the soldiers before being rescued by Captain H. S. Panag, the Indian Army section commander.

He was the first Pakistani prisoner of war of the conflict and was eventually sent to Fort Williams.

His capture made the front pages of the Indian newspapers, and the photos of his capture were widely aired on the television screens by the Pakistani news media.

Upon watching the news, President Yahya Khan imposed the state of emergency and ordered the military for the preparation of war with India on 23 November 1971.

According to East Pakistani sources, No. 14 Squadron Tail choppers suffered minor casualties due to a lack of effective radars that could have provided them with an early warning, whereas the attacking Indian Air Force planes were directed by Indian radar controllers at Barrackpore.

The Delhi Agreement, signed by the Governments of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, made it possible for POWs to be repatriated to Pakistan from India in 1973–75.

Upon his return, Mehdi was directed to attend the war course at the Air War College, where he earned a master's degree in War studies in 1976.

In 1977, Squadron-Leader, Mehdi served to join the faculty of the Combat Commanders School (CCS), a TOPGUN training school, which he remained associated with several years.

From 1977 to 1979, Wing-Commander Mehdi served as the commanding officer of No. 9 Squadron Griffins, stationed at Sargodha Air Force Base (AFB).

In 1981–83, Group-Captain Mehdi was appointed as the base commander of Sargodha AFB.

During this time, Mehdi qualified as a combat pilot to fly the F-16s.

In 1991–93, Air-Commodore Mehdi was appointed air officer commanding of the Southern Air Command, based in Sindh, Pakistan, and was promoted to two-star rank, and transferred to command the Northern Air Command.

In 1993, AVM Mehdi took over the command of the Air Defence Command, then-based in the Chaklala AFB.

In 1995, Mehdi was promoted to the three-star rank, posted to the Air Headquarters (AHQ) in Islamabad as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Operations).

He remained in this capacity until 1997.

In 1997, Air-Marshal Mehdi was elevated and appointed as the Vice Chief of Air Staff (VCAS) under then-Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak.

On 7 November 1997, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved the promotion of Mehdi to four-star rank, air chief marshal, and Medhi subsequently took over command of the Pakistan Air Force as its Chief of Air Staff (CAS) on 8 November 1997.

As air chief, Mehdi played a crucial role in expanding the educational scope of the Air War College in Karachi, and backed up the military's plan for enhancing communications capabilities between the branches of the Pakistani military.

In 1998, Mehdi supported authorizing the nuclear weapon testing during a national security meeting with the civilian cabinet.

Gen. Mehdi issued directives to the F-16s belonging to No. 11 Squadron Arrows to escort the C-130H strategically airlifting six-to-seven nuclear device to the weapon-testing sites in Balochistan, Pakistan.

Mehdi did not comment or offer any opinion when Prime Minister Sharif relieved the military commission of then-Chairman Joint chiefs General Jehangir Karamat in 1998.

His tenureship in command of the Pakistan Air Force is notable during the events involving the short-lived military conflict with the Indian Army in Kargil in 1999.

He is credited for advising Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif against all-out war with India, eventually providing an exit for the Pakistan Army to deescalate the situation through diplomacy with India.

Mehdi commanded the Pakistan Air Force during a two-month long military confrontation with the Indian Army in 1999.

Meeting with the chairman of the joint chiefs, Mehdi advised against involving the Air Force, stating: