Mushaf Ali Mir | |
|---|---|
| مصحف علی میر | |
 ACM Mushaf Ali Mir (1947–2003) | |
| 9thChief of Air Staff | |
| In office 20 November 2000 – 20 February 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi |
| Succeeded by | Kaleem Saadat |
| Chairman Pakistan Aeronautical Complex | |
| In office September 2000 – December 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Himself (as Director General) |
| Succeeded by | Air Marshal Pervez A Nawaz |
| Director General Pakistan Aeronautical Complex | |
| In office January 1999 – September 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Air Marshal Saeed Anwer |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as Chairman) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1947-03-05)5 March 1947 Lahore,Punjab Province (British India) (nowPunjab, Pakistan) |
| Died | 20 February 2003(2003-02-20) (aged 55) Kohat Pass,Kohat District,Pakistan |
| Cause of death | Aviation accident |
| Resting place | Mominpura Graveyard |
| Relatives | Yunus Hussain (brother-in-law) |
| Nickname(s) | Mashoo Mir |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  Pakistan Air Force |
| Years of service | 1966–2003 |
| Rank |   Air Chief Marshal |
| Unit | No. 25 SquadronNight Strike Eagles |
| Commands | |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | See list |
Air Chief MarshalMushaf Ali Mir[a]NI(M),HI(M),SI(M),SBt(5 March 1947 – 20 February 2003) was an influentialstatesman and afour-star rankair officer who served as the ninthChief of Air Staff of thePakistan Air Force (PAF), appointed on 20 November 2000 until his accidental death in a plane crash on 20 February 2003.[1]
A fighter pilot and astrategist, he briefly served at command level in theISI before controversially being promoted as a four-starair officer to command the air force in 2000.[2] In 2001–02, he also commanded and provided the strategy to deploy troops during themilitary standoff with India. In addition, Air Chief Marshal Mir later went onto facilitate the United Statesmilitary'swar logistics forwar operations in Afghanistan. His appointment was cut short when a former PAFFokker F-27 in which he was a passenger crashed nearKohat, Pakistan.
His death has been subject of numerous conspiracy theories, with many American authors charging him of havingadvanced knowledge onterrorist attacks in the United States in 2001.[3]
Mushaf Ali Mir was born inLahore,Punjab inBritish India on 5 March 1947.: 11 [5] He hailed from thelowermiddle class family and was ofKashmiri descent, that practiced theShia'a principles ofIslam.[6] Mushaf's oldest sister, Surayya Jabeen, was married toYunus Hussain, who died in the1965 war.[7]
His father, Farzand Ali Mir, was acalligrapher who died when Mushaf was still young. He attended Govt. Wattan Islamia High School inLahore.[8] Upon hismatriculation from a local school in Lahore, Mir initially attended theGovernment College University but joined thePakistan Air Force in 1966 which directed him to attend the famedPakistan Air Force Academy inRisalpur, after thesecond war with India.[1][9]
In 1967, he gainedcommission in thePakistan Air Force as aPilot officer in theGD(P) branch through the Second Short Course.[9]
At thePAF Academy, he qualified to fly theF-6 Farmer fighter jet, and was posted to join theNo. 25 SquadronNight Strike Eagles in 1970. In 1971,F/Off. Mir successfully flew hisF-6 Farmer against theIndian Air Force'sMiG-21, and was credited with shooting an Indian Air Force jet down with hismissile.: 103–104 [4]
After the war in 1971,Flt. Lt. Mir attended theAir War College where he attained hismaster's inWar studies, and later went on to attend theNational Defence University where he graduated with amaster's inStrategic studies.[1] During this time, he became acquainted with then-Brig.Pervez Musharraf.[10][11]
In the 1970s, Mir joined theCombat Commander's School, first serving as a student before joining its faculty, eventually commanding anAggressor squadron composing ofDassault Mirage IIIER to act as anIndian IAF'sMiG-29M.: 104–105 [12]Wing-Commander Mir was acommanding officer of theNo. 33 Wing attached at theNorthern Air Command and later took over the command of theSouthern Air Command as itsAOC.[9] In the 1980s,Gp-Capt. Mir was posted as anair attaché at theEmbassy of Pakistan inWashington, D.C. in United States.[13]
He qualified to fly theF-16 Fighting Falcon, as a Group Captain of No. 33 Wing at Kamra Air Base, with personnel from No. 14 Squadron.[13]
In 1994–95,Air commodore Mir, as anACAS (Plans) atAir AHQ, visited Poland to hold discussions to acquire the RussianSu-27 Flanker but returned since the aircraft was not available.: 94–95 [14]
In 1995,AVM Mir was appointed asProject-Director ofProject Green Flash, aiming to acquireMirage 2000-V from France, and begin his lobbying to acquire the aircraft after test piloting the fighter jet.: 97–98 [14] In 1996,Air Vice Marshal Mir was appointed asProject-Director ofProject Falcon that was started to negotiate withTurkey andJordan to acquireF-16As/Bs.: 99–100 [14]
In 1996–99, Air Vice Marshal Mir took over the command of theNorthern Air Command headquartered in Peshawar, and became associated with theISI, where he aided in providing the aerial support during thecivil war inAfghanistan.[5] During this time, Air Vice Marshal Mir was posted as amilitary adviser to theSaudi Arabian Army and later assumed the short-time command of thePakistan Armed Forces-Middle East Command before returning to Pakistan for the command appointments.[13]
In 1999,Air Marshal Mir was appointed as the chairman ofPakistan Aeronautical Complex atKamra.[9]
In 2000,ACMPQ Mehdi's retirement was confirmed byPresidentRafiq Tarar, and thePakistan MoD sent potentials list of three-starair officers for the promotion of the four-star rank.[2]
At the time of promotion to the four-star appointment, there were six senior air marshals who were in the race which included in seniority:
Eventually, the race for the appointment for theair chief was rumored between Air Marshal Farooq Qari and Air Marshal Riazuddin.[2]
On 13 November 2000,PresidentRafiq Tarar surprisingly approved the appointment of junior-mostAir-Mshl. Mir to be promoted to as the four-starair officer in the air force, and appointed him as theChief of Air Staff.[2] The surprise promotion and command appointment was said to be at the behest of special and personal requests made by then-Chairman Joint chiefs Gen.Pervez Musharraf.[2][15]
This appointment was one of the center of controversies in theMusharraf administration when supersedingair officers had sparked off "rumblings of resentment" at theJoint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) in the country.[16] All five superseded Air Marshals tendered their resignations toPresident Tarar despiteChairman Joint chiefsGen. Musharraf's efforts to have all five air force generals to complete their respected terms.[16] Innews media, the appointment was also given a strong criticism when theGen. Musharraf's clique attempted a damage control exercise by pointing out that supersessions were nothing new in the country's military establishment having happened five times in the Air Force and at least four times in the Army.[16]
Despite the agitation and criticism,Air Chief Marshal Mir eventually assumed the command of the air force as its chief on 20 November 2000.[9]
After thedeadly terrorist attacks inNew York in the United States in 2001, ACM Mir successfully negotiated with theUnited States Air Force of releasing the spare parts and updating the software of the F-16s.: 82 [17]
During his tenure, the PAF'sF-6 aircraft were retired from service, and were transferred toBangladeshi Air Force.: 63 [18] During themilitary standoff with theIndian Army, ACM Mir placed the air force at war level command, issuing orders for targeting the Indian military posts.[19]
In spite of his closeness toPresident Musharraf, ACM Mir had strongly objected and opposed theMusharraf administration's policy onWar on Terror, that he suspected ofintelligence blowback and terror organizations that might be finding theforeign support for their operations to spread sectarian violence in the country.: contents [20]
This is a very sad day for me. I have lost a very good friend. This is a sad day for the whole nation. The death of Mushaf Ali Mir is a great loss for the country.
— President Musharraf, 2003[21]
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On 20 February 2003, Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir boarded on aFokker F-27 aircraft operated by theAir Force, along with his wife and 15 senior air force officers fromChaklala Air Force Base for a routine flight toNorthern Air Command based inKohat,Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan to review annual preparations and readiness.
The plane lost contact from its military radars at theNorthern Air Command and crashed after hitting the highest peak of the mountain at theTolanj mountain range inKohat due to anextreme fog and winter temperature.[22][21][23] Among the casualties were other high-ranking officials of the Pakistan Air Force, including three Principal Staff Officers –Air Vice MarshalAbdul Razzaq Anjum,DCAS (Training & Evaluation) andAir Vice Marshal Saleem Nawaz,DCAS (Administration) – andAir CommodoreRizwan Ullah Khan, Personal Staff Officer and the air crew.[24]
Upon his accidental death, thePakistan government give him astate funeral, with many foreign dignitaries attending his funeral and was buried inMominpura cemetery inLahore, Punjab, Pakistan.[25]
TheAir Force Flight Safety and theCivil Aviation Authority (CAA) ruled out the "act of sabotage" and termed the incident as an accident.[21] Additional inquiries in 2015 resulted by the air force and civilian investigations, theGovernment declared the aircraft as faulty, not an act of sabotage.[26]
Further military insights revealed at the parliamentary committee noted that the aircraft was in fact faulty, as it was first identified as such by the Navy's inspection team as early as 1993.[27] The Navy purchased the aircraft for its reconnaissance missions before it was transferred toArmy Aviation in 1993, which then transferred the plane to Air Force in 1994, which never reviewed the inspection protocol to assess the performance of the aircraft.[27]
Reactions
United States:American ambassador to PakistanNancy Jo Powell expressed her sorrow and grief over the tragic air crash on behalf of the United States.[25]
Iran:Iranian PresidentSyed Mohammad Khatami convened a message toPresidentPervez Musharraf saying: "While expressing condolence and sympathy to Your Excellency as well as the noble people of Pakistan, I pray to Almighty Allah for forgiveness and Divine blessings for the deceased, and patience and fortitude for the survivors."[25]
Afghanistan:Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai sent a cable where he noted: "On behalf of the people, government of transitional Islamic state of Afghanistan and on my own behalf, I would like to express deepest sorrow and condolences to Your Excellency and to the families of the victims and to the brotherly people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan."[25]
India:Indian air chiefAir Chief MarshalS. Krishnaswamy conveyed sympathies on behalf of the Indian IAF and his own behalf on the sudden and untimely demise of Mushaf Ali Mir.[25]
Pakistan:Foreign MinisterK.M. Kasuri termed the death of Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir a great loss for Pakistan and its military, and he quoted: "We have lost one of our great sons and a fine soldier; he was an outstanding soldier and his services to Pakistan will always be remembered."[13]
Since the plane crash in 2003, Air Chief Marshal Mir's death has attracted significant amount of attention and has been subject of conspiracy theories in media and literature.[29] According toGerald Posner, anAmerican journalist, Mir's death in a plane crash was not an accident but an act of sabotage, which he claimed in his book:Why America Slept: The Failure to Prevent 911, written in 2003.: 105–194 [28]
Several American authors of counterterrorism studies have suspected him of having advanced intelligence knowledge on theplanning of theterrorist attacks in the United States byal-Qaeda, during his time when Mir was serving in theISI as its spymaster.: 269 [3]: contents [30]: conts. [31]: contents [29]
Subsequently,Posner and his American colleagues have claimed thatOsama bin Laden and otherAfghan Arabs had struck a deal withInter-Services Intelligence (ISI) through Mir in 1996 to get protection, arms, and supplies forAl-Qaeda. The meeting was blessed by theSaudi royal family throughPrince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud — theSaudi intelligence chief.[29]
However, after theterrorist attacks in the United States in 2001, and a reversal of Pakistani and Saudi stances favoring theAfghan Taliban and their alliesal-Qaeda, the three Saudi princes associated with the deals died within days, and seven months after that, Mir's plane crashed in the Kohat region of Pakistan.[29]
PrinceTurki bin Faisal, on the other hand, was removed as intelligence chief and sent as Ambassador to United Kingdom during the same time.[32]
In 2015, the Air Force's Flight Inquiry Board and the CAA dismissed the claims of sabotage when they submitted their year long investigation reports to thePublic Accounts Committee of thePakistan Parliament, citing the poor maintenance of the aircraft.[26] They backed up their evidence when identifying the faultyFokker F27 Friendship that the Air Force had transferred the plane toNavy but the aircraft was returned to the Air Force due to its faults during its flight.[26]
According to the analysis written in 2003 byNajam Sethi, a Pakistani commentator, the claims might have been "untrue" but the allegations are very explosives directed towards thePakistani military.[33]
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| PAFGD(P) BadgeRED (More than3000 Flying Hours) | |||
| Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) (Order of Excellence) | Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) (Crescent of Excellence) | ||
| Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military) (Star of Excellence) | Sitara-e-Basalat (Star of Valour) | Sitara-e-Harb 1965 War (War Star 1971) | Sitara-e-Harb 1971 War (War Star 1971) |
| Tamgha-e-Jang 1965 War (War Medal 1965) | Tamgha-e-Jang 1971 War (War Medal 1971) | Tamgha-e-Baqa 1998 | 10 Years Service Medal |
| 20 Years Service Medal | 30 Years Service Medal | Tamgha-e-Sad Saala Jashan-e-Wiladat-e-Quaid-e-Azam (100th Birth Anniversary ofMuhammad Ali Jinnah) 1976 | Hijri Tamgha (Hijri Medal) 1979 |
| Tamgha-e-Jamhuriat (Democracy Medal) 1988 | Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha (Resolution Day Golden Jubilee Medal) 1990 | Tamgha-e-Salgirah Pakistan (Independence Day Golden Jubilee Medal) 1997 | UAEDefence Forces Unification Medal (UAE) |
| Abu Dhabi Defence Forces Service Medal (UAE) | Order of Merit of the Republic of Turkey (Turkey) | Military Merit Order 1st Class (UAE) | Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) (USA) |
| Foreign Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
 UAE | UAE Defence Unification Medal | |
| UAE | Abu Dhabi Defence Forces Service Medal | |
 Turkey | Turkish Legion of Merit | |
| UAE | Military Merit Order - 1st Class | |
| USA | The Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) | |
{{cite news}}:|last1= has generic name (help)The committee head Rana Afzaal, giving three months time to present report to the committee, said "due to a faulty aircraft we lost Air chief."
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| Preceded by | Chief of Air Staff 2000 – 2003 | Succeeded by |
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