There is no dearth of heroes in Pakistan. It’s just us ignorant young lot that has failed to keep their memories alive.

Today, M.M Alam is just another road in Lahore where you go to eat, but in 1965 M. M Alam was a national hero. An Air Commodore who was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurrat for his valiant efforts in the 1965 war with India.

Muhammad Mahmood Alam was the first ever PAF pilot honored for his service and his name is listed at top of the hall of fame at the PAF Museum, Karachi.

Mr. Alam flew the F-86 Sabre and in the 1965 war downed a total of NINE Indian jets! Five of these were shot down by our hero in ONE minute; the first four downed in 30 seconds; which is a world record!

M.M. Alam’s confirmed kills of Hawker Hunter jets are as follows:

Squadron Leader, Ajit Kumar Rawlley No. 7 Sqn, KIA near Tarn Taran September 6, 1965
Squadron Leader, Onkar Nath Kacker No. 7 Sqn September 7, 1965
Squadron Leader, A.B Devayya No. 7 Sqn September 7, 1965
Squadron Leader, Suresh B. Bhagwat No. 7 Sqn September 7, 1965
Flight Lieutenant, B. Guha No. 7 Sqn September 7, 1965
Flying Officer, Jagdev Singh Brar No. 7 Sqn, KIA, near Sangla Hill September 7, 1965
Flying Officer, Farokh Dara Bunsha No. 7 Sqn, KIA, near Amritsar September 16, 1965

The Indian Air force disputes the world record and say that M.M Alam only downed 4 planes and that the fifth one (Onkar Nath) went down due to technical failure or perhaps even ground fire. What sore losers!

It is heroes such Muhammad Mahmood Alam (nicknamed Little Dragon by his peers) who we, as Pakistanis, should be proud of. These are the kinds of courageous, God gifted individuals because of whose efforts, Pakistanis can proudly claim victory over India in the 1965 war. And All praise is due to God.

However, Mr. Alam, as many of our other heroes, was disgraced and forced to retire early due to internal politics at the PAF and because he valued honesty and ethics more over his job. However, he still had a lot of fight left in him and he later joined the Mujahideen in their struggles against the Russian invasion of Afghanistan.

M.M. Alam passed away on the 18th of March, 2013 after battling a protracted respiratory illness for months. It was a sad day indeed for all of Pakistan which lost another one of its heroes.