Yunus Hussain

Flight Lieutenant Yunus Hussain (1 June 1935 — 6 September 1965) was a fighter pilot, aerobatic pilot, and Pakistan Air Force officer. He shot down two Hawker Hunter aircraft of the Indian Air Force, including one piloted by Flying Officer A.R. Gandhi over Halwara in the Indo-Pakistani Air War of 1965. Shortly after, Hussain was shot down in the same area by Flight Lieutenant Vinod Neb after mistakenly turning left into Neb's firing range. He is regarded as one of Pakistan's greatest war heroes.

Born in Haryana, Hussain grew up in a financially struggling household. As the only child of his parents, his early life was marked by hardship, particularly in accessing basic amenities, including education. After the Partition of British India in 1947, his family relocated to Jhang, where he enrolled at a high school and completed his matriculation. He was unable to continue further education due to financial constraints. To support himself, he took a job in Lahore but was reportedly restless and dissatisfied with it for years.

Seeking a different path, he applied to the RPAF Selection Centre in Lahore but was initially rejected for being overage. However, amid rising tensions between Pakistan and India, the Air Force temporarily relaxed its eligibility criteria for volunteers. He reapplied and was accepted into the RPAF College in 1956. Known for his intelligence and diligence, he rose to the position of Squadron Under Officer before being commissioned in 1958. He was twice awarded the Green Endorsement by Air Marshal Asghar Khan in recognition of his dedication to flying. His passion and skill enabled him to achieve the fastest completion of 500 and later 1,000 flying hours in the PAF. In the early 1960s, he participated in the Bajaur Campaign.

The PAF held an air show in honor of Air Marshal Omar Dhani of Indonesia in 1964. A key highlight was the F-86 Sabre formation display by the "Sabres Nine – 1964" team, which included Flight Lieutenant Hussain among its members.

The Tempest House at the PAF College Sargodha was renamed to Yunus House in 1967 and again on 26 March 2015 in his honour. In 2016, the Pakistan Air Force launched the Yunusabad project at PAF Base Samungli in his memory, with the aim to eliminate illiteracy and eradicate poverty in the rural areas of Balochistan.

In a December 2020 podcast, his colleague, retired Air Commodore Sajad Haider, said that Kaiser Tufail falsely told the Indian Air Force to credit Cecil Chaudhry instead of Hussain for Gandhi's plane getting shot down. Haider's Indian counterpart confirmed that Hussain had originally been credited before Tufail went to him. When Haider questioned Tufail on the lie, he said he wanted Cecil to be credited because Cecil was his senior. Haider also added that Cecil had been lying his whole life and claiming Yunus Hussain's success as his own for forty years. Further stating that the lie was concocted in order to glorify Sargodha pilots.