PAF's first martyred female pilot laid to rest in Karachi
Flying Officer Marium Mukhtiar died when her FT-7PG aircraft crashed in Mianwali.
KARACHI (Web Desk / AFP) – Flying Officer Marium Mukhtiar, one of Pakistan‘s few female fighter jet pilots, who died in yesterday’s crash in Mianwali, has been laid to rest in Karachi on Wednesday, Dunya News reported.
Pakistani Air Force officials, Corps Commander Lt General Naveed Mukhtar and the family memebers attended her funeral prayers in Malir Cantt.
Squadron Leader Saqib Abbasi and co-pilot Marium were flying a training mission on an FT-7PG aircraft when they encountered a "serious in-flight emergency" during the final stages in Kundian, Mianwali district, about 175 kilometres (109 miles) southwest of Islamabad.
Marium embraced martyrdom in the incident and became the first lady pilot from PAF to attain this great honour while
the male officer, Abbasi, sustained serious injuries.
She was among about 20 female fighter pilots in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), which only began inducting women in combat roles in 2006.
It is unclear how many women have joined the air force as fighter pilots since then. A New York Times report in June put the figure at 21.
Pakistan‘s military has suffered a series of air disasters in recent months.
In September a trainer jet crashed near Mastung in Balochistan province. The pilot ejected to safety.
A military helicopter crashed in Gilgit-Baltistan region in May, killing seven people, including the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines.
Another military helicopter crashed near Mansehra district in August, killing 12 people.
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