A Tribute to First Pakistani Women Pilot - Martyred Maryam Mukhtar
Mariam Mukhtiar (January 1, 1992 – November 24, 2015) was a Pakistani fighter pilot. She was Pakistan's first female fighter pilot to die in the line of duty.
Maryam Mukhtiar Shaikh was the daughter of Col. R. Mukhtiar Ahmed Shaikh, and her ancestors were from Pano Akil, Sindh. She spent her early life in Karachi. She chose to join the armed forces, despite having previously pursued civil engineering.
Mariam 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 6 May 2011, she joined the Pakistan Air Force in 132 GD Pilot course.
On 24 November 2015, Mariam Mukhtiar Shaikh and her co-pilot squadron leader, Saqib Abbasi, were on their routine operational training mission in a PAF F-7PG aircraft, but due to forgone reasons she had to eject from the craft.[clarification needed] In a very tough situation, she tried to save human lives on the ground and succeeded in doing so, lost her own life during the ejection process when the plane crashed near Kundian, Panjab. She is the fist female pilot of the Pakistan Air Force to die in the line of duty.
Maryam Mukhtiar Shaikh was the daughter of Col. R. Mukhtiar Ahmed Shaikh, and her ancestors were from Pano Akil, Sindh. She spent her early life in Karachi. She chose to join the armed forces, despite having previously pursued civil engineering.
Mariam 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 6 May 2011, she joined the Pakistan Air Force in 132 GD Pilot course.
On 24 November 2015, Mariam Mukhtiar Shaikh and her co-pilot squadron leader, Saqib Abbasi, were on their routine operational training mission in a PAF F-7PG aircraft, but due to forgone reasons she had to eject from the craft.[clarification needed] In a very tough situation, she tried to save human lives on the ground and succeeded in doing so, lost her own life during the ejection process when the plane crashed near Kundian, Panjab. She is the fist female pilot of the Pakistan Air Force to die in the line of duty.