S. Sajad Haider’s Followers (3)

S. Sajad Haider

Born

in Sargodha, British India

December 26, 1932

Died

January 03, 2025

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Sayed Sajad Haider, better known by his aliases as Nosey Haider and Saviour of Lahore, was a Pakistani fighter pilot andone-star rank officer in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). He is best known for leading a devastating Blitzkrieg on the Pathankot airbase in India on 6 September during the Indo-Pakistani air war of 1965. Haider personally destroyed four Indian aircraft, 11 Indian tanks and damaged another three. The formation destroyed a total of 13 Indian aircraft including 2 MiG-21s. The following day, Haider led his pilots to Srinagar Air Force Station where they destroyed another three aircraft. He was also an author, columnist, businessman, defence analyst, political commentator, and philanthropist.
Haider's career was marked by a series Sayed Sajad Haider, better known by his aliases as Nosey Haider and Saviour of Lahore, was a Pakistani fighter pilot andone-star rank officer in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). He is best known for leading a devastating Blitzkrieg on the Pathankot airbase in India on 6 September during the Indo-Pakistani air war of 1965. Haider personally destroyed four Indian aircraft, 11 Indian tanks and damaged another three. The formation destroyed a total of 13 Indian aircraft including 2 MiG-21s. The following day, Haider led his pilots to Srinagar Air Force Station where they destroyed another three aircraft. He was also an author, columnist, businessman, defence analyst, political commentator, and philanthropist.
Haider's career was marked by a series of significant events, three of which stood out due to false accusations and defiance against military rule. The initial incident involved unfounded charges of treason and mutiny amid an alleged coup against President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's regime in 1973. Crucially, the coup charges were exposed as manipulated accusations orchestrated by Chief of Air Staff Zafar Chaudhry who was later fired, his deputy Saeedullah Khan and Khaqan Abbasi. This orchestrated effort also targeted and implicated 13 other PAF officers. Sajad and the rest of the officers were eventually exonerated. The second instance transpired in Washington, D.C., where an American corporate executive offered him a bribe. Sajad refused and told him, "Get out of my office. I will have your company blacklisted," the executive was fired after the head of the company found out and personally apologized to Sajad. Subsequently, a SAVAK operative in the Iranian embassy with a direct hotline to The Shah of Iran, had fabricated a lie with the help of the American, alleging that Sajad had defamed the Shah, resulting in diplomatic tensions between Pakistan-Iran, with the Shah requesting President Bhutto to remove him from his position. Afterwards, it was revealed that the executive along with several Pakistani, Iranian, and Americans created the lie as they wanted to make money from shady defence deals being offered to the Pakistan Air Force.
Reflecting on his time in the air force, Sajad writes that the Americans coerced President Ayub Khan to let them establish a spy base at Badaber in Peshawar where Lockheed U-2 fighter planes operated from. That to Sajad is the beginning of Pakistanis taking American dictation, "We traded our sovereignty for preservation of a dictator (Field Marshal Ayub Khan) and we've never looked back. The Americans have always let down Pakistan." He further states that he was very close friends with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto but would never forgive him for his role in the separation of East Pakistan.
Sajad Haider retired from the PAF in 1980 following an act of dissent against President General Zia-ul-Haq and his authoritarian regime. During a top-secret address at the GHQ (Pakistan) in November 1979, where Zia outlined the continued military rule, Haider seized the moment to express his concerns when Zia hesitantly allowed him to speak. He criticized the intelligence agencies for manipulating the truth, highlighted the stifled press, and conveyed his disillusionment with the military's conduct towards civilians. Despite warnings from colleagues about the consequences, Haider chose to speak out to Zia-ul-Haq's face. Unwilling to serve under Zia's rule, he opted to retire, leaving behind a distinguished career and embarking on a new life with minimal resources. Haider remained engaged in advocating for the PAF's well-being while candidly critiquing its policies, emphasizing his passion for the institution despite the challenges he had faced towards the end of his career.
After retirement, he started his own defence, aviation and communication company, Cormorant. He decided to shut it down in 1990, after being targeted and offered kickbacks by two Pakistan Army generals of the Defen ...more