The Raptor's Frenzy

(a translation)

Gaze upon my flight from dawning unto twilight;
Soaring towards the mark of my ambition!

Contemplate my stoop, full of rapture and might;
Like the frenzy of a falcon on the attack!

Commanding is the impetus and dominance of my sight;
Observe, as it illuminates the horizon!

Like the echo, eternal is my flight;
Gliding on the wings of immortality!

Hear the roar in the winds and the terrible fright;
Admire in my ascension gallantry and grit!

Tahira! Watch the flame of my courage my convictions ignite;
And look upon me as I attain the abode of glory!

POET: TAHIRA SHAMIM
BOOK: RANG-E-UFAQ /THE COLOR OF HORIZON
Printed in URDU, April 1989 Lahore
Genre: Poetry-Urdu--Pakistan--Women--Military Poems---Inspirational Poems

CUTTING EDGE PAF: A FORMER AIR CHIEF'S REMINISCENCES OF A DEVELOPING AIRFORCE by AIR CHIEF MARSHAL (Retd) M. A. Shamim

An corrected electronic version (e-book) is now available. The original paper print had multiple errors by the publisher.

THE LEAP INTO NEXT GENERATION
OF AIRCRAFTS: 1981--

At the time of Independence in 1947, the Royal
Pakistan Air Force inherited planes, which were
in pretty bad shape. They were not even enough
to protect the country from the aggression it was
feeling from two sides of its borders. There were
just a couple of bases, and one without proper
runway signs and equipment.

Many of the pioneering Pakistan pilots, who had less
than hundred hours flying experience, were to become
instant instructors and planners of an almost non
existent Air Force infra structure.

The two runways built by the British were at
Rawalpindi and Risalpur; which may account
for initial decades of higher volume of ethnic
Punjab and NWFP soldiers and pilots. It took
a while to build and equip bases in other areas,
and get the local Sindh and Baluch population
interested and excited about a profession where
you do not make much money and die any moment!

Even a decade later, pilots of Air Chief Marshal
Anwar Shamim's generation, who trained for
hours on those earlier generation planes, were
literally saying their final goodbyes to their families
every day.

Good or bad, Pakistan's military budget seems
to have been a priority since independence, because
of the relations with India and Afghanistan;
the earlier need to defend East Pakistan;
to build the military from ground zero;
and a constant state of war possibility
followed by proxy war during the cold war
era. India going Nuclear was perhaps the most
expensive arms deterrent weapon Pakistan
was forced to acquire. It needed expensive
flexible delivery mechanism.


INDUCTION OF F-16 INTO PAF:

Buying F-16 was a very important decision
for Pakistan; and it was not taken lightly by
Air Chief Marshal Anwar Shamim. He also
knew about the corrupt practices in the sale
of military equipment.

He initiated a clause that would make kickback
illegal, mirroring one USA had. FMS made a
lot of enemies for not letting any one "eat"
off of this deal, as far as he could control things.

When he was at the dinner after the F-16s were
ready for delivery the Company's President said
at dinner speech; that " it was the cleanest
deal the company has ever done with a
foreign country." The Pakistani Ambassador
and his staff were present also.

Air Chief Marshal Shamim remembers that as
one of the proudest moments of his career.
His " Legion of Merit" during Reagan administration
is recognition of the outstanding Air Force professional
levels achieved under him, and his personal integrity.

THE U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES & RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
Executive Order 9260--Legion of Merit
Source: The provisions of Executive Order 9260 of Oct. 29, 1942, appear at 7 FR 8819, 3 CFR, 1943-1948 Comp., p. 1222, unless otherwise noted.

1. The decoration of the Legion of Merit shall be awarded by the President of the United States or at his direction to members of the armed forces of the United States and members of the armed forces of friendly foreign nations, who, after the proclamation of an emergency by the President on September 8, 1939, shall have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services.
2. Awards of the decoration of the Legion of Merit may be proposed to the President by the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force, each acting upon the recommendation of an officer of the armed forces of the United States who has personal knowledge of the services of the person recommended.
3 (a). The decoration of the Legion of Merit, in the degrees of Commander, Officer, and Legionnaire, shall be awarded by the Secretary of Defense or his designee, after concurrence by the Secretary of State, to members of the armed forces of friendly foreign nations.(b). Recommendations for awards of the Legion of Merit, in the degree of Chief Commander, to members of the armed forces of friendly foreign nations shall be submitted by the Secretary of Defense, after concurrence by the Secretary of State, to the President for his approval.
[EO 9260 amended by EO 10600 of Mar. 15, 1955, 20 FR 1569, 3 CFR, 1954-1958 Comp., p. 245]

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
Codification of Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders
FOREWORD
The Codification of Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders is an editorial codification prepared by the Office of the Federal Register and is not intended to be used as a definitive legal authority. It is published to provide in one convenient reference source proclamations and Executive orders with general applicability and continuing effect. This codification covers the period April 13, 1945, through January 20, 1989--a timespan encompassing the administrations of Harry S. Truman through Ronald Reagan--and replaces the previous volume, which covered the period January 20, 1961, through January 20, 1985. Proclamations and Executive orders issued before April 13, 1945, are included if they were amended or otherwise affected by documents issued during the 1945-1989 period.

PERSONAL PORTRAITS OF AIR CHIEF MARSHALS

PAKISTAN AIR FORCE
CHIEF OF AIR STAFF 1978-1985
FULL NAME: MUHAMMAD ANWAR SHAMIM
WIFE: TAHIRA SHAMIM
MARRIED: 1958
DIED: January 3, 2013

RELIGION: SUNNI MUSLIM FROM BIRTH. Father was well known
Educationist, a graduate of Aligarh University.
Wife SHIA.

Never had any fight over sects!
Both have performed Hajj, he was fortunate to wash the
inside of Khana Kaaba; and have a section of the black cloth
with golden letters which once covered Khana Kaaba.

COUNTRY OF BIRTH: Pakistan, Haripur, Hazara, NWFP/Wife: Rawalpindi, Punjab.

Officially:
ONE COAS EXTENSION A NECCESITY:
After the President insisted on his extension as Chief of Air
Staff, he had to continue his duty.
The next officer was as yet junior, and the President wanted
him to oversee the full induction of the F-16 before he
retired.

POST-RETIREMENT SERVICE OFFERS:

Offer of AMBASSADOR TO CANADA, and Canada had no objection.
This was while they were packing and shifting to
Islamabad, wrapping up thirty plus years of military life,
whirlwind of farewells, son's recent wedding; first grandson;
finally he decided to say no, due to his son-in-law being
posted to Canada from Foreign Service. No other Ambassadorship
was ever offered, or refused.

AIR CHIEF MARSHAL'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY

"He was our Base Commander, an excellent man." -------- Air Chief Marshal M. Anwar Shamim

"The Quiet Man - The Autobiography of Air Chief Marshal Sir Neville McNamara -

"WINGS" PAPER WEIGHT

Graduation present for child leaving for college.
The back says,"Wings are not just for flying away"

PUBLISHED WORK OF ACM (Retd.,) M. ANWAR SHAMIM

PUTTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: MISQUOTES

After his retirement, Air Chief Marshal Anwar Shamim
was extremely aggrieved at how some journalists
completely misquoted him on sensitive issues. For example,
on MQM, a journalist misquoted him to show a position
opposing and harmful to MQM, most likely to create hatred for his
person. His misquotes were promptly
reproduced all over, even in Indian newspapers.
He did resort to legal action once, and won the case,
but the apology was in an obscure corner, almost
useless. He does not like taking legal action, it wastes
money and energy, and would rather
educate people about dis/misinformation, or mistake.



ARTICLES:

LEADING PAKISTAN ENGLISH NEWSPAPERS:


DAWN: Saturday March 12,1988
Afghanistan Problem: The End In Sight?....I

DAWN: Sunday March 13, 1988
Afghanistan Problem: The End In Sight?....II

DAWN: March 27, 1988
Implication’s of India’s Naval Build-Up.

DAWN: April 4, 1989
Dilemma of the Bureaucracy.

DAWN : Saturday May 20, 1989
What Does Agni Portend?


DEFAMATION ON THE INTERNET:
ETHICS OF CITIZEN JOURNALISM

MOVEMENT PROMOTION THROUGH
LINKING AND OTHER METHODS----
RESPONSIBLE CHECKS AND
BALANCES.

Internet is a wonderful arena of actual free speech,
a wonderland of fantasy and reality, all available on
one screen.

Internet is not like any other media; it is information
that is constantly present, unlike other mediums,
where once aired or published, it may not be
available, "in instant, streaming, and constantly
adaptable (i.e.,editable
capacity, to cater for previous
weaknesses and mistakes) form."

In the past, if some journalist of newspapers and
Magazines, even of repute like TIME,
NEWSWEEK; quoted "unknown sources" which fit their story,
enhanced their story, or even quoted known high level
sources, (which unknown to them, due to lack of good
investigation of the local revenge politics), were actually
defaming to destroy an individual or organization; it
was understood that such journalists
and such reporting does exist. (Google fabricated
news, Ethics in journalism, etc).

However, Internet from the very beginning has had
a strong image of credibility way beyond other mediums,
for apparently having honesty of a machine, yet
associability of humans.

With such a remarkable arena of interaction, at least a
basic consideration should be that absent solid
factual evidence, or conviction, no one should
be able to actually malign a person's reputation
by naming them directly; they can be referred to
as part of some group or such other methods, if
it is a rumor or hunch or such.

Simply quoting someone quoting someone else;
which starts it's own false authenticity; is a
disservice to any good cause for accurate
historical record keeping, or academic work.

Another, ethical consideration should be that
if names are being listed, then the inference
that is being drawn should not only be backed
by evidence, but also by counter argument
from the person named, or organization
maligned.

M. Anwar Shamim

He lost his mother at age two, to illness; and his only
adored brother to an accidental fall soon after.
His father remarried, and had a new family of
seven daughters.
He was sent to live with his grandpa and step-grandma.
This was the best thing that happened to little Shamim,
because step-grandma, never having had her own kids,
showered all her pent up love and care on him, while
grandpa was a wise, humble, and spiritual.
The combination of early pain of losses, older and gentler
company, and spiritual caring, turned him into a man that
had no regrets for what he lost; or what he did not have;
treasured what he had; and struggled for what he could
achieve.
Colleagues named him “cool cat,” because he
remained perfectly calm under the highest pressure of
wars. During 1965 war, after thirty six straight
hours of flying, without any break, he proved
worthy of his title.

USPAF COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF VISITS SHAMIM

Pakistan Air Force, under the leadership of Air Chief Marshal

(Retd.)Anwar Shamim, during the cold war era of early

eighties, reached the height of safety and operational records.

This was due to Shamim's uncompromising professional

standards. Having trained from Australia, with courses

from America, he had absorbed the Western standards

of excellence required in organizational mangment. He

had no problem in bringing the PAF relationally in sync

with world standards.

1979 JETSTREAM EXERCISES LAUNCHED

"HATS OFF TO PAF! A FITTING TRIBUTE
TO THE LEADERSHIP AND PERSONNEL OF PAF
BY GENERAL ZIA-UL-HAQ

Air Chief Marshal Shamim and his wife had always
been true soldiers, not mixing politics with service.
They did not intimately know any top leaders of Army,
Air Force, Navy or any politicians, since they did not
fraternize.

The year following the coup, in 1978, he was
promoted as Chief of Air Staff, at age 47. He had
commanded three bases and served as Air Commander
of Operations, and had been in two wars, besides other training.
He accepted with apprehension because of the military
rule.

Gen Zia sensed this and he cleared to him that he
would have nothing to do with the Martial Law or the
inner circle decision makers.

General Zia said his duty was to Air Force and would
not be required to get involved in any other aspect.
In mandatory military meetings, if he did not like
some proposal, he put forward his point of view;
General Zia did not mind, he patiently
listened to all but did what he analysed was correct.

The media chronicles of the outstanding work he and
his wife were doing did not endear well to some in
high places and some members started circulating false
rumours against him to forever tarnish his image.
By passed and retired officers, jumped at the opportunity
to add fuel to this vicious blame game.

BIO Of AIR CHIEF MARSHAL MUHAMMAD ANWAR SHAMIM, N.I.(M),, S.J.(Retd.) PAF

AIR CHIEF MARSHAL MUHAMMAD ANWAR SHAMIM, N.I(M),, S.J.
(Retd.), PAKISTAN AIR FORCE,
A FOUR STAR GENERAL WHO SERVED AS THE
CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF, PAKISTAN AIR FORCE,
FROM 22ND JULY, 1978— MAY, 1985.

"Air Chief Marshal Muhammad Anwar Shamim assumed the
command of the Pakistan Air Force on 22nd July, 1978. He
brought with him a rich experience of command and staff
appointments in the PAF.

He hails from Haripur (Hazara) , and belongs to a
family devoted to education. He received early education in
his native town, proceeding to Government College
Campbellpur (Attock), and subsequently joining Dyal Singh
College, Lahore. He became a member of the then functional
University Air Squadron, to begin" his childhood dream "career
that of a fighter pilot in the Pakistan Air Force. "

"He entered the Pakistan Air Force in the General Duties
(Pilot) Branch in July, 1950, and received his initial cadet
training at PAF College. Risalpur. He was commissioned on
14th March, 1952; after successfully completing basic flying
training course at Royal Australian Air Force College, Point
Cook, (RAAFPC), for which he had been selected by merit.

Air Chief Marshal Shamim has attended, among many other courses,
the Jet Conversion Course in Australia, the Flying Instructors
Course, and the Fighter Leader Course. A graduate of the
PAF Staff College, he has also attended the National Defence
College Course, and the International Defence
Management Course in U.S.A.

Air Chief Marshal M. Anwar Shamim has held several
command and staff appointments. He has commanded a
fighter squadron and a fighter wing. He has flown a variety
of aeroplanes and was always current on all fighter aircraft
in the PAF inventory. He has served as Officer Commanding of
three Bases of PAF Masroor, Korangi Creek and Sakesar. His
staff appointments at Air Headquarters include Wing
Commander Tactical Operations and Deputy Director of
Plans. For two years he served as Air Adviser to His Majesty
King Hussein, for the Royal Jordanian Air Force. Before
taking over as the Chief of the Air Staff, he held the
appointment of Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations)
at Air Headquarters, Peshawar.

Air Chief Marshal Shamim actively participated in the
1965 and 1971 Wars. In the September, 65 War he was O.C.
Flying Sargodha. For his leadership...., he was awarded
Sitara-i-Jurat. In the 197 1 War, he was Sector
Air Defence Commander (South). He has also received the
following awards — Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) Hilal-e-Imtiaz
Military), Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Military). His foreign
decorations include: Al Istiqlal from Royal Jordanian
Government and Legion of Merit from the United States
of America.

Air Chief Marshal Shamim is widely traveled and is a keen
sportsman." He won several cups for Tennis, and Soccer as a
young officer. "He likes Squash, and he was very involved
in the further development of the athletes and the game
as the President of Pakistan and Asian Squash Rackets
Federations. During his spare time at home he likes to
read history," and write. After retirement, he remained an
avid golfer, teaching one grandson from age six, who later
made varsity team. He also loves playing chess with his
grandsons; and he and wife, Begum Tahira Shamim, as a
team, are often board game champions beating younger family
members! Their secret: long marriage of cooperation and
coordination made them intuit each other’s moves.
The younger generation has no time to know one another!!
He is fond of traditional folk music, and his son,
Asad’s compositions.

Air Chief Marshal M. Anwar Shamim was married in July.
1958. His wife, Begum Tahira Shamim was an active social
worker and President of Pakistan Air Force Women’s
Association, "with a professional dedication to welfare work,
spanning over twenty-five years. She is a published poetess
of four Urdu poetry books. He has three children: two daughters,
who are attorneys; and a Computer Engineer son, who has
several patents with his former company. He has worked
in highest technical executive positions of top
international and national American companies.

Air Chief Marshal M. Anwar Shamim died on January 4, 2013 and was buried with full military honors in Islamabad.

His favorite advice to his family:
“Never look back at the runway left behind, it is the runway ahead that matters”


SOURCE: The text in quotations is from "History of Pakistan Air Force 1947-1982," by Syed Shabbir Hussain & Squadern Leader M. Tariq Qureshi, PAF press Karachi, First Edition May 1982. p. 221-222