Third death anniversary of Marium Mukhtar Shaheed being observed

KARACHI: Third death anniversary of Pakistan’s first female fighter pilot, Mariam Mukhtiar Shaheed is being observed on Saturday (today).

Born on May 18, 1992 in Karachi, Mariam Mukhtiar hailed from a family having military background. Her father, Mukhtiar Ahmed Shaikh was a retired colonel of the Pakistan Army, who inspired her to join the armed forces.

Miss Mukhtiar after receiving her initial education from Karachi, graduated as a fighter pilot in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in 2007 with seven other female Pakistanis who also graduated as pilot officers. On May 6, 2011, she joined the Pakistan Air Force in 132 GD Pilot course.She was on a routine training flight with her instructor Saqib Abbasi when her jet developed a fault and crashed at Kandian area in Bhakra near Mianwali on the fateful day of November 24, 2015, even though her co-pilot and her ejected before the aircraft crashed, she later died from her injuries.

A PAF spokesman after the crash stated that the aircraft had developed technical fault but the pilot managed to divert the jet away from the populated area to avoid any harm to the population.The government of Pakistan posthumously honored Marium Mukhtiar with Tamgha-e-Basalat (Medal of Good Conduct) on 23rd March 2016.