Nur Khan

World War II

In the United Kingdom, Khan trained with the Royal Air Force as air crew and received additional training as a gunnery and bomber pilot. Upon returning to British India in 1942–43, he was deployed to the Burma campaign with the Royal Indian Air Force as part of the occupation forces fighting against Imperial Japan. On 20 May 1944, he dive bombed a bridge on the Arakan front.^[19][14]

In the mid-1940s, Nur Khan was an active supporter of the Pakistan Movement, a stance that often made him the subject of teasing by his commanding officer, Flight Lieutenant Erlic Pinto. Fellow officer, Raja Gohel, fought over Khan's pro-Pakistani views, leading to a physical altercation in which Nur struck Gohel. According to Air Commodore (retd) A.C. Chacko, "Raja went literally mad with fury and we had all the trouble to prevent him bashing Nooru's head with a brick."^[20][21]

Initial years (1947-1959)

After the Partition of British India on 14 August 1947, Nur Khan opted for the Royal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF) and was appointed the Commander of PAF Station Chaklala.^[14]

In January 1948, Khan was appointed as the first Pakistani air attaché to the High Commission of Pakistan, London. He was asked to return to Pakistan later that year and succeeded Asghar Khan as Commandant of the RPAF College on 15 September 1948.^[14][17][22]

Khan was posted to the Air Headquarters in Rawalpindi as the Director of Organisation where he remained involved in the induction of aircraft under U.S. military aid from January 1950 until March 1951.^[14] That month, Khan was selected for a course at the RAF Staff College, Andover. Ezer Weizman in his autobiography, recalled an interaction with Khan while they were both studying at the college: "The following day I was approached by Wing Commander Nur Khan of the Pakistani air force. He was a formidable fellow and I was glad that he was Pakistani and not an Egyptian."^[23]

Khan also advanced his military education at the Joint Services Staff College (UK) and the PAF Staff College.^[24][25]

In the mid-1950s, Nur Khan was appointed the F-86 Sabre program director. He strongly advocated for the induction of F-86 Sabres instead of the Republic F-84 Thunderjet, despite opposition by many, which often caused commotion during meetings, with Khan going as far as threatening to resign. He maintained his stance and the RPAF received the Sabres.^[14]

Promoted to Group Captain in July 1953,^[26] Nur Khan was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff (Air) under Chief of Staff Air Commodore L. E. Jarman.^[27][28]

In response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union, Group Captains Asghar Khan, Nur Khan, and Wing Commander Abdul Qadir developed an expansion plan for the Air Force in March 1954. This plan outlined a ten-year goal from 1954 to 1964, aiming to establish the RPAF with 768 aircraft across 44 squadrons. It included ten day-fighter squadrons, five night-fighter squadrons, six bomber squadrons, one reconnaissance squadron, twelve fighter-bomber squadrons, six tactical light bomber squadrons, two twin-engine and one four-engine transport squadrons, and two maritime squadrons.^[29]

From December 1955 to August 1956, Khan commanded PAF Station Peshawar.^[14] He commanded PAF Station Mauripur from August 1956 to October 1957, where he converted the aircraft of PAF fighter squadrons from piston to jet engines.^[17] He served at the Air Headquarters before he was appointed as Air Officer Commanding of the No. 1 Group PAF.^[14][30] At the time, the RPAF was organised into two groups: No. 1 Group Headquarters for Operations, based in Peshawar, and No. 2 Group Headquarters for Maintenance, located at Drigh Road.^[31] In 1958, Flight highlighted Air Commodore Nur Khan's leadership of No. 1 Group PAF, describing him as "probably the youngest air officer anywhere in the world" at the age of 35.^[32]

In 1957, Khan was appointed Chairman of the Committee responsible for the reorganisation of the Air Force.^[33]

Pakistan International Airlines (1959-1965)

In the afternoon of 6 March 1959, President Ayub Khan appointed Air Commodore Nur Khan as the Managing Director of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).^[34] He is credited with turning the airline into a profitable, internationally recognised entity.^[35][36][37] In late 1962, he received a two-year extension in his position by the Government of Pakistan.^[38] In February 1964, he was appointed as Chief Administrator of Civil Aviation and Tourism.^[39]

Commander-in-Chief (1965–1969)

On 23 July 1965, the outgoing Commander-in-Chief Air Marshal Asghar Khan handed over command of the Pakistan Air Force to Air Marshal Nur Khan. Asghar Khan did not brief him about Operation Gibraltar in Indian administered Kashmir as Asghar was not informed by the Pakistan Army either.^[40]

After a hiatus of six years without flying fighter jets, Nur Khan quickly regained familiarity with the cockpit by doing quick checkouts on the Lockheed T-33 before switching to an F-104 Starfighter and F-86 Sabre.^[41]

The Air Headquarters was suspicious regarding the secret operations undertaken by the army, due to previous subsequent skirmishes on the eastern border. Nur Khan met with General Musa Khan who admitted that "something was afoot", with Nur Khan responding "this could mean war". However, Musa tried to assure Nur Khan that India would not retaliate. Very few details of the plan were conveyed to both Nur Khan and Naval Chief Vice Admiral Afzal Rahman Khan by the Pakistan Army leadership.^[40]

Still skeptical, Nur Khan was told by General Musa to meet with the General Officer Commanding of the 12th Infantry Division, Major General Akhtar Hussain Malik for further details, as he was in charge of Operation Gibraltar. Akhtar told him, "don't worry, because the plan is to send in some 800,000 infiltrators inside the occupied territory to throw out the Indian troops with the help of the local population". Akhtar also claimed that the plan was so perfectly designed and the Indians would not be able to retaliate, therefore the Air Force would not need to get into war-time mode.^[40]

Air Marshal Nur Khan placed the Air Force on red alert on 1 September 1965 as Operation Gibraltar came to a halt and Indian forces launched a major offensive against Pakistan. According to Air Commodore Sajad Haider, Khan was concerned about the survival of the Pakistani commandos in the Kashmir Valley as conventional supply routes were no longer viable. Since Pakistani regulars were on the battlefield, Khan consulted General Akhtar, and then authorised C-130 transport missions to deliver supplies. He personally accompanied the first flight with a "rudimentary radar" despite inclement weather, darkness, and the hazardous peaks of the valley. During the mission, when the aircraft's pilot, Group Captain Zahid Butt, overshot the designated drop zone, Nur Khan ordered him to make a second attempt and the supplies were delivered on target. According to Haider, "news of this propelled the morale of the PAF to incredible heights."^[4]

During the war, Air Marshal Nur Khan ordered Flight Lieutenant Farooq Umar to take his F-104 fighter jet to an altitude above the Indian Air Force base in Amritsar and break the sound barrier over it. Umar successfully accomplished the mission and Khan ordered him to repeat it. Soon thereafter, Indian radio channels began reporting numerous Pakistani F-86 Sabre aircraft attacking the base. These reports also noted the sound of large explosions occurring while in actuality those sounds were the two sonic booms done by Umar.^[42]

Post-war activities

Air Marshal Nur Khan made two visits to China for the procurement of F-6 jets, the first visit was in November 1965 and the second in December 1967. According to Air Marshal Inamul Haque Khan, "Normally Premier Zhou Enlai did not meet military chiefs, but he had a liking for Nur Khan and thus graciously had dinner with him. F-6s were provided promptly at a crucial juncture almost free of cost, when we were passing through bad times."^[43]

On Pakistan Day 1966, the PAF exhibited Chinese weapons for the first time, including five Chinese-made Type 59 tanks and four Chinese-made Shenyang F-6 fighter jets, one of which was piloted by Nur Khan.^[44]

Air Marshal Nur Khan ordered the Pakistan Air Force to serve the Military of the Arab League in the Six-Day War.^[45][46]

1978 Hijacking incident

On 20 January 1978, PIA flight PK-453 heading from Sukkur Airport to Karachi, was hijacked shortly after breakfast service when a man named Nazir Mohammad, armed with a revolver and dynamite stick entered the cockpit and ordered the pilots, Captain Khaldoon Ghani and First Officer Kadir Gabol, to divert the flight to India for his cancer treatment. Ghani told Nazir that the aircraft did not have enough fuel to go to India and that the plane could land in Karachi only. Karachi Airport was informed of the hijacking at 10:30am where the plane landed at 10:55am.^[69]

During the negotiations, Nazir demanded Rs. 10 million (equivalent to Rs. 51 million or US$180,000 in 2021) and US$1,000,000 (equivalent to $4,936,224 in 2025) for the release of passengers and crew, stating that he needed the money to enjoy his final days cut short by cancer. Nur Khan told Nazir that the PIA can make arrangements for treatment and offered to be kept as a hostage aboard the aircraft in exchange for the release of passengers and crew. Nazir rejected the offers but allowed the supply of food and water for the hostages in the aircraft. By night time, Nazir had released a total of 14 passengers and an air hostess.^[69]

Nazir sent a message to authorities that he wanted to talk to an "important person", Nur Khan accompanied by a Pakistan Army officer, entered the aircraft at around 11:50 PM. Following an hour of negotiations, Nur Khan pretended to walk away but abruptly turned around, attempting to seize the revolver from Nazir. The gun went off and Khan was shot at point-blank range in his side. The aircraft crew then overpowered Nazir and he was arrested. Khan was subsequently taken to PNS Shifa Hospital. The bullet was lodged about a centimeter from his spine. Nazir was later identified as a resident of Mianwali in his 30s, who worked in a hotel in Sukkur under the alias of Aslam Khan. He told police he was a deserter of the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers.^[70][71][72]

The same year, Nur Khan was awarded the Hilal-e-Shujaat (Crescent of Courage) for his actions.^[73]

Squash Federation

From 1951 to 1963, Pakistan achieved remarkable success in Squash by winning the most coveted title, the British Open. Thereafter, it was a barren period for squash in the country as Pakistani players failed to get the title, with the closest being Aftab Jawaid, who managed to reach the finals and was a runner-up in 1966, 1967, and 1971. However, he did become the first Pakistani to win the British Amateur title in 1964 which was later discontinued.^[74]

When Nur Khan took over as the managing director of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for the second time in 1973, he immediately took revolutionary steps and initiated what was known as the PIA Colts scheme. Young promising boys were scouted and given a monthly stipend, subsequently being coached and sent to participate in international tournaments with the PIA bearing the travel expenses. Whoever performed well on the international circuit was given permanent employment in the airline. Additionally, if any player achieved some major success in prime events, they were rewarded with a departmental promotion.^[75]

This led to a surfeit of world class Pakistani players in the 1970s, namely Qamar Zaman, Gogi Alauddin, Hiddy Jahan, Mohibullah Khan and others, with there being at least six to seven Pakistanis among the top 10 in the world rankings.^[76][77]

On Nur Khan's request in 1975, legendary four-time winner of the British Open Squash Championships, Azam Khan, who was running a squash club in England, trained Qamar Zaman, Mohibullah Khan, and Torsam Khan for the British Open. Subsequently, Qamar Zaman won and bought back the title to Pakistan after a 12-year drought.

Additionally, Nur Khan gave the squash world Jahangir Khan,^[78] a pure PIA colts product who would later become the greatest squash player of all time. The Pakistan Open initiated in 1980 and became a prestigious tournament. Pakistan also hosted the British Open Squash Championships.^[79][80]

In 1976, Nur Khan built the PIA Squash Complex in Karachi.^[81]