**Squadron Leader Sarfaraz Ahmed Rafiqui Shaheed
A MAN OF CHARACTER IN PEACE,
A MAN OF COURAGE IN WAR**
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Some days after the war had started in September 1965, a poignant message arrived by telegram at 22 ILACO House, Victoria Road, Karachi. It read, ‘Regret to inform, your son Sqn Ldr Sarfaraz Ahmed Rafiqui failed to return from a mission against enemy…’
The Rafiquis - whose grief over an earlier loss of their elder son Ijaz in a Fury crash many years ago hadn-t quite subsided - did not know what to make of this message. But gradually, sorrow began to blend with pride as details followed about the epic air battle at Halwara, in which their son had fearlessly fought in mortal combat. He was brave and chivalrous till the last. Another son had gone down but with honour, a distinction reserved for the bravest of the brave.
Born in Rajshahi (erstwhile East Pakistan) on 18th July 1935, Sarfaraz had three brothers and a sister. Education started in 1942 at St Anthony’s High School, Lahore, where his father worked with an Insurance Company. He matriculated from Government High School, Multan in 1948 at a remarkably early age of thirteen. A year earlier, he had been selected as a King’s Scout to attend a jamboree in UK and France. In Paris, we are told, his fervour for the impending birth of Pakistan knew no bounds. He hastily had his version of the Pakistan flag stitched by the Girl Guides (white bar consigned to the bottom, crescent in one corner, star in the other)! On the eve of Independence, Sarfaraz formed a troop of three Muslim scouts, proudly flaunting the new flag. After the jamboree, it was quite a homecoming for a twelve-year old to a new Pakistan.
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When the elder Rafiqui moved to Karachi as Controller of Insurance, Sarfaraz joined the DJ Sind Science College. Scouting remained a passion and he managed another trip abroad, this time to a jamboree in Australia. But thoughts soon turned to the Air Force, where his elder brother, a dashing young pilot, had won the Sword of Honour in the 4th GD (P) Course. Sarfaraz applied for the RPAF in 1951, not yet having appeared for his Intermediate examinations. His Principal at DJ Science College found him to be ‘very intelligent and well suited for a military career. Sarfaraz’s above-average intelligence was to be echoed by all his instructors in later years.
Sarfaraz was selected for the RPAF, though the Services Selection Board report was not very generous about his prospects of making a pilot. He joined the Joint Services Pre-Cadet Training School at Quetta. The Commandant of the School was impressed with Sarfaraz’s command of English, his confidence and his travels abroad at such an early age. After five months of training at JSPCTS, he entered the RPAF College at Risalpur. In 1953, he graduated in the footsteps of his brother, winning the prestigious Atcherly Trophy for the Best Pilot in the 13th GD (P) Course (and turning the Selection Board report on its head)!
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Flying came easily to Sarfaraz, which ability, as some of his instructors noted, led him to exhibit careless tendencies and some over-confidence. He once pranged a Fury in Miranshah, breaking one of its landing gear; only a belly-landing at the better-endowed airfield of Peshawar saved the day. To sober him up, he was promptly administered a reprimand. Born fliers are known to follow the line of least resistance, but luckily for Sarfaraz, guidance was always at hand. He continued with a string of above average reports in his Advanced Flying Course as well as the Fighter Weapons Instructors’ Course, both done in USA. He again showed his prowess as a superb fighter pilot by topping the course at PAF’s Fighter Leaders’ School in 1960. After yet another course at RAF’s prestigious Fighter Combat School, he ended up piling a unique assortment of highly rated qualifications that served him (and the PAF) in good stead. As an exchange pilot in UK, he flew Hunters for two years Sarfaraz’s Officer Commanding in No 19 Squadron (RAF), reporting on his flying abilities, eloquently wrote, ‘In the air his experience and skill combine to make him a very effective fighter pilot and leader who creates an impression of disciplined efficiency in all that he does’. On return from UK in 1962, he was given command of No 14 Squadron. A year later, he was given command of the elite No 5 Squadron, in which he was to achieve martyrdom and eternal glory. He came to be well known as much for his highly assertive and effective control of the Unit as for his spirited attitude towards flying.
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Sarfaraz’s sense of humour, seldom evident from his sole published photograph, was a very genial trait, amply noted at home and across the shores. As an officer, he was found to be courteous and well mannered with a pleasant personality. He was extremely popular and, socially well accepted. Swimming took up his leisure time, though his keenness for flying determined the daily routine.
An incident that deserves special mention relates to Sarfaraz’s steadfastness in matters of honour and righteousness. During a RAF dining-out night, he was enraged when the Pakistani ‘representatives’ (exchange pilots) were denied the customary toast to their Head of State, while the Europeans merrily drank to their royalty. He walked out of the dinner proceedings and, next morning, informed the bewildered Officer Commanding that he would prefer to be repatriated rather than suffer such scorn. The matter got a bit complicated, but an unyielding Sarfaraz would accept nothing short of an apology. The OC repented publicly and, later made sure that the Pakistanis were never slighted again. Sarfaraz also drove home a point that it was respect, not pennies that counted.
Sarfaraz was unconventional in more ways than one. His aversion to an arranged marriage invoked the ire of his conservative father, who had failed to incline Sarfaraz towards one particular offer; this included fringe benefits of a house and a good bit of cash besides the damsel! Star-crossed perhaps, he ran short of time looking for the right mate. The Mess remained his home and hearth till the end.
[This message has been edited by mAd_ScIeNtIsT (edited July 10, 2001).]