Sajad Haider

Sayed Sajad Haider SJ (26 December 1932 – 3 January 2025), better known by his aliases Nosy Haider and Saviour of Lahore, was a Pakistani fighter pilot and Air Commodore in the Pakistan Air Force. He was also an author, columnist, businessman, defence analyst, political commentator, and philanthropist.

Born in Sargodha, Haider and his family later moved to Balochistan, where he grew up alongside Akbar Bugti. By 1953, he graduated from the RPAF College, commissioned into the Royal Pakistan Air Force, and completed his Fighter Conversion Course on the Tempest at Mauripur, coming in second place behind Sarfraz Rafiqui. In 1954, he flew in aerial operations against the Faqir of Ipi. Shortly after, he joined the No. 11 Sqn, the RPAF's first jet unit. Excelling in air combat, he trained on the F-86 Sabre in the United States and later joined the PAF Falcons aerobatic team, which set a world record with a 16-aircraft formation loop in 1958.

As Squadron Leader of No. 19 Sqn, he gained fame for leading a devastating blitzkrieg attack on the Pathankot airbase during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965, where he destroyed four Indian aircraft on the ground, 11 tanks, and damaged another three. His formation accounted for the destruction of 13 enemy aircraft, including two MiG-21s. The following day, he led another formation attack on Srinagar Air Force Station, where they destroyed three more aircraft.

A career rife with events that included false accusations, Haider, along with 13 other PAF officers, was falsely accused of treason and mutiny in a supposed coup against then President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1973. This accusation, devised by Air Chief Zafar Chaudhry, his deputy Saeedullah Khan, and third in command, Khaqan Abbasi, was later revealed to be completely baseless. Consequently, Haider and some officers were exonerated while Chaudhry and Khan were fired.

In the mid-1970s, as air attaché to Washington, D.C., he rejected a bribe from an American executive who was subsequently fired. In cahoots with Pakistani, Iranian, and American high-level officials, this sacked executive would then be behind a plot that accused Haider of making disparaging remarks about the Shah of Iran, causing diplomatic tensions between Iran–Pakistan. The scheme was later exposed, revealing that they had fabricated the lie in retaliation for Haider rejecting the bribe, as they aimed to profit from illicit defence deals with the PAF.

In late 1979, Haider confronted President General Zia-ul-Haq during a top-secret meeting at the General Headquarters. He criticised the intelligence agencies for manipulating the truth, suppressing the press, and conveyed his disillusionment with the military's conduct towards civilians. Refusing to serve any longer under Zia's rule, he resigned from the air force in 1980, ending an illustrious career with very few assets.

He formed an aviation, defence, and communications company called Cormorant. It ceased operations in 1990 after he refused to take kickbacks from two Pakistan army generals of the Defence Procurement Division, including the Director General. A staunch supporter of Imran Khan, Haider donated to his fundraiser for affectees of the 2022 Pakistan floods and received thanks from him. In 2023, he was holding a placard in support of Khan, when an Islamabad police officer approached him and began misbehaving, undermining his efforts during the 1965 war by parroting him in a taunting way.