Air MarshalAir Marshal is a 3 star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries...
Malik Nur Khan, HJ, HS, HQA, SPk (born 22 February, 1923) was the
Commander-in-ChiefThe Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force is the highest post in the Pakistan Air Force. The current Chief of Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman.-List of Air Chiefs:-See also:*Pakistan Air Force...
of
Pakistan Air ForcePakistan Air Force is the air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role to provide air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role to provide strategic air transport and logistics...
from 1965 to 1969. Considered the hero of the 1965 air war - the man who led the Pakistan air force achieve parity over the three times bigger Indian air force on the very first day of the 1965 war - a man widely respected not only for his integrity but also for his sharp intelligence and outstanding management abilities.
Nur Khan was commissioned in the British Indian Air Force on 6 January, 1941.
Air MarshalAir Marshal is a 3 star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries...
Malik Nur Khan, HJ, HS, HQA, SPk (born 22 February, 1923) was the
Commander-in-ChiefThe Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force is the highest post in the Pakistan Air Force. The current Chief of Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman.-List of Air Chiefs:-See also:*Pakistan Air Force...
of
Pakistan Air ForcePakistan Air Force is the air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role to provide air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role to provide strategic air transport and logistics...
from 1965 to 1969. Considered the hero of the 1965 air war - the man who led the Pakistan air force achieve parity over the three times bigger Indian air force on the very first day of the 1965 war - a man widely respected not only for his integrity but also for his sharp intelligence and outstanding management abilities.
Nur Khan was commissioned in the British Indian Air Force on 6 January, 1941. Earlier he had attended the Royal Indian Military College at Dehra Dun after completing his education at
Aitchison CollegeAitchison College Lahore is a semi-private boarding school for boys aged 3–19, located in Lahore, Punjab, in Pakistan.The school follows a curriculum designed to culminate in GCE O and A qualifications and is geared towards preparing the students for university education.Aitchison College is the...
, Lahore. Notable amongst his assignments before partition was that of a flight commander in No 4 Squadron. In the RPAF, he held various key appointments including command of Chakala and Mauripur stations and, as an air commodore, of No 1 Group at Peshawar.
In 1959, following a series of mishaps in the country’s airlines, Air Marshal Nur Khan was deputed to head the amalgamated Pakistan Airlines Corporation where he remained till taking over from Air Marshal Asghar Khan in July 65. During that period, he made a name for his airline as a safe and reliable organization, and for himself as a dynamic go-getter. It was not surprising therefore that he was named as Air Marshal Asghar Khan’s successor; he was then 42 years old.
Nur Khan was also part of the Pakistani contingent that wreaked havoc on Israel's air force during the Yom Kippur War. In fact, the President of Israel,
Ezer Weizman' was the seventh President of Israel, first elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. Before the presidency, Weizman was commander of the Israeli Air Force and Minister of Defense.-Biography:...
, who was also the Commander of the
Israeli Air ForceThe Israeli Air Force is the air force of the Israel Defense Forces...
and the Minister of Defense of Israel wrote in his autobiography that: "He was a formidable fellow and I was glad that he was Pakistani and not Egyptian" .
Nur Khan was the
Air MarshalAir Marshal is a 3 star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries...
of
Pakistan Air ForcePakistan Air Force is the air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role to provide air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role to provide strategic air transport and logistics...
,
GovernorA governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of
West PakistanWest Pakistan was the popular and sometimes official name of the western wing of Pakistan until 1971, when the eastern wing became independent as Bangladesh...
and the Chairman of
Pakistan International AirlinesPakistan International Airlines Corporation, more commonly known as PIA , is the flag carrier airline of Pakistan, headquartered in Karachi. It is the 31st largest airline in Asia, operating scheduled services to 23 domestic destinations and 36 international destinations in 25 countries across...
.
In 1960, PIA's very first jetliner (a
Boeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven"...
-321 leased from Pan Am) is taking gentle turn under the command of Malik Nur Khan. Nur Khan was PIA's Managing Director from 1959 to 1965. His success in establishing PIA on a firm and profitable financial basis in six years is now a fact of airline history. Under his charismatic and inspirational leadership PIA became one of the leading and respected airlines of the world. Under his tenure PIA became the first Asian airline to operate jet aircraft. The airline inducted modern Boeing 720B jet in its fleet. PIA started flying to China and flights to Europe via Moscow were also launched during this period. In 1973 Nur Khan was specially requested by the government of Pakistan to resume control of PIA. During his second term as airline's head, PIA became operator of wide-body DC-10s and Boeing 747s. Popular Green & Gold aircraft livery was introduced plus many more achievements were made by the airline under Nur Khan's leadership. He kept PIA out of Pakistan's turbulent political arena and returned it to a sound commercial basis. Nur Khan was a dynamic leader and believed in innovation and new ideas
Always a sports enthusiast as well as an able sports administrator, he's the founder of the annual
Champions TrophyThe Hockey Champions Trophy is the International Hockey Federation's most prestigious annual event . Founded by Pakistan's Air Marshal Nur Khan, it features the world's top-ranked teams competing in a round robin format...
in
field hockeyField hockey is a team sport in which a team of players attempt to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking the ball with hockey sticks into the opposing team's goal. Its official name is simply hockey, and this is the common name for it in many countries...
as well as helping organise the
1987 Cricket World CupThe 1987 Cricket World Cup was the fourth edition of the tournament. It was held from October 8 to November 8, 1987 in India and Pakistan - the first held outside England. The format was unchanged from 1983 except for a reduction in the number of overs a team played from 60 to 50, the current...
in India & Pakistan as
PCBThe Pakistan Cricket Board is responsible for all major cricket including Test cricket played in Pakistan. It controls and organizes all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan national cricket team....
head. Nur Khan was also a member of the National Assembly from 1985 till 1988. He also contested in 1988 election on PP ticket from NA 44 Chakwal II but wasn't successful. After defeat in the 1988 elections he decided to retire from politics and his cousin Sardar Mumtaz Khan Tamman starting contesting the election from same constituency.
Nur Khan was the
Pakistan Air ForcePakistan Air Force is the air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role to provide air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role to provide strategic air transport and logistics...
Commander-in-Chief from 23 July 1965 to 31 July 1969. Nur Khan was appointed Governor of West Pakistan in August 1969. Currently he has been employed by the Egyptian government as advisor to minister of defence.
Noor Khan belong to a small Village of dandi, Tamman, Talagang.Mlik Noor Khan has respectible status in his village.
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