Our beloved father, Muhammad Afzal Khan

Muhammad Afzal Khan
May 10, 1933 - January 11, 2005

He was a loving and caring father, a wonderful husband and a kind human being. He was also a devouted muslim. May God bless his soul and grant him place in Janat-ul-Firdous.

He was our best friend and we have a very special place for him deep inside our hearts. What we are today is because of him always being there for us. He prayed to Allah for our health, wealth and happiness every hour of every day. His passing away on January 11, 2005 has been a tremendous loss for us.

Captain Muhammad Afzal Khan, our father, our mentor, our teacher, our coach, our idol, our hero, our family's leader, our mom's best friend, and by far the coolest guy we will have ever known. We will miss you every day, but we will always try to make you proud.

As said by one of his dear friends:

"He was an Amanat of God to us which was to be returned one day. He was also a human being but as a whole , he was so loving , upright , pleasant, that anyone who came across during his sojourn of life , loved him rather worshipped him. Personally, I donot know , if any "BADBAKHT"had thought otherwise. He was so passionate to decorate his house. He also thought and prayed the same for our homeland. His talk walk smile used to be fragrant! Yes , ATIF! everybody who has been close to Capt sahib will agree with you with the depths of his heart that his passing away is huge/irreplaceable loss but we have to bow to Almighty that he was his "AMANAT" and he took it away! May his soul rest in peace for all the times to come and bless us with the courage to cope with this loss."

This picture was taken at 78-G Model Town, Lahore in 1959. He was a Flying Office in PAF at that time.












He was born on May 05, 1933 to Din Muhammad Khan and Khudija Begum in District of Gurdaspur, India. He was the youngest of 8 children. He received his early education in a local school in Dhariwal. He migrated to Lahore in 1947 with his family at the age of 14. He did his metriculation from ------ school in 1948 and FSc from Dyal Singh College in Lahore. He then went on to join Royal Pakistan Airforce in 1952 and was a member of the 6th squadron.

Flying C-130B from Skardu to Chaklala on July 11, 1964. C-130B was one of the many aircrafts he flew during his 37 years of professional flying.



One of his last sorties in C-130B before leaving PAF. He voluntarily retired as a Flight Lieutenant in 1964

An athlete with a keen interest in sports all his life

He was the captain of Pakistan Basketball Team in 1955. He is 2nd from left in the top row in this picture

At opening ceremony of the Games of 24th Olympiad in Soul in 1988. He was an active member of the Pakistan Athletics and Baskeball Federations and held many honorary positons till 1989.

His time in Iran: 1966-1969 and 1973-1978

At Kish island airport on August 2, 1978. Here he says goodbye to all his friends before leaving Kish for good. This was also the last time he flew for Pars Air.

Captain Muhammad Afzal's aviation career

Capt. Muhammad Afzal Khan's aviation career spanned four decades. He joined Pakistan Air Force as a cadet in January 1952. After flying for 37 years, he retired in late 1989 at the age of 57. He logged around 15000 hours of flying during his aviation career.

Aviation Career

Royal Pakistan Air Force

Joined in January, 1952

Training

• Jan 1952 to July 1952 - Trained at the Northern Indian Flying Club, at the Walton Airport Lahore, Pakistan. Auster and Tiger Moth Aircraft - 40 hours of flying

• July 1952 to Dec 1952 - Joint Services Pre Cadet Training School, Quetta

• Jan 1953 to Dec 1954 - Royal Pakistan Air Force College Risalpur, Pakistan
• Flew Harvard Aircraft under training

• Commissioned in the GD (P) branch on Dec 12 1954.

• Jan 1955 to Sept 1955 – Royal Pakistan Air Force Conversion School, Mauripur, Karachi

Sept 1955 – Posted as Pilot Officer in GD (P) branch to No. 6 Squadron, RPAF Lahore

Sept 1955 to Dec 1964 – No. 6 Squadron - Flew Bristol Freighter and C130-B Aircraft

Dec 1964, Retired as Flight Lieutenant from PAF

Commercial Pilot

1965 to 1966 – Sr. Pilot West Pakistan Power and Development Authority, Lahore. Flew Travel Air and G-50 Bonanza Aircraft

1966 to 1969 – Air Taxi Company, Mehrabad Airport, Tehran, Iran - Flew Aero Commander, Grand Commander, Cessna 310 and DC3

1970 to 1973 – Manager and Chief Pilot Astro Aids, Walton Airport, Lahore, Pakistan – Flew Cessna 172 and Airmachy.

1973 to 1978 – Operation manager PARS Air, Iran – Flew Islander, Piper Chieftain

1978 to 1982 – Pilot WAPDA, Lahore – Flew Cessna 310 and Cessna 402

1983 to 1989 – Pilot/Chief Pilot WAPDA – Cessna 310, Cessna 402

Business Career

• 1982 to 1983 – Private Business in London, England

• 1990 to 1991 – Director Administration MI Textile Mill Lahore, Pakistan

• Retired in 1992 and settled in San Jose, CA, USA

Aircraft Flown

Pakistan Air Force – 1952 to 1964

• Auster, Tiger Moth, Harvard, Bristol Freighter, C130-B

Commercial Flying – 1965 to 1989

• Travel Air, G-50 Bonanza, Aero Commander, Grand Commander, Cessna 310, DC3, Cessna 172, Airmachy, Flew Islander, Piper Chieftain, Cessna 310 and Cessna 402

Links:

http://www.pakdef.info/pakmilitary/airforce/warbirds/training.html

His Paper on Direction of Al-Qiblah from North America

The correct direction of Al-Qiblah is to the Southeast/East-Southeast from North America (USA and Canada). Advisors to Islamic Society of North America have in the recent past recommended that the direction of Al-Qiblah is towards the Northeast/Northeast-North from North America. His paper below, based on religious and scientific data, explains the reasons for facing towards the Southeast/East-Southeast for Muslims living in North America while offering their prayers.

Link:

http://www.mediamonitors.net/afzalkhan1.html