First death anniversary of Marium Mukhtiar

KARACHI: The first death anniversary of Pakistan’s first female fighter pilot to be killed in the line of duty Marium Mukhtiar is being observed on Thursday (today), ARY News reported.

Marium Mukhtiar was born on 18th May 1992 in Karachi. She was the daughter of Colonel (retd.) Mukhtiar Ahmed Shaikh.

She joined Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on 6th May 2011 and completed her graduation in 2014.

Marium Mukhtiar acquired fighter pilot training from PAF Academy Risalpur and was amongst the five female pilots of Pakistan who were able to fight on the war front.

On the fateful day of 24th November 2015, 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.

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 on 23rd March 2016.