Adnan Sami Khan: The disgraceful son of a graceful father and a PAF hero of 1965 war
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LAHORE – Although Adnan Sami is being criticised on a massive level currently for pledging unflinching allegiance to India, his father’s association with Pakistan Air Force still remains a matter of record.
Arshad Sami Khan served in diverse roles for Pakistan as a PAF pilot and a diplomat as well, with accomplishments still serving as a benchmark for his successors to follow.
Khan was born in 1942 to a Pashtun family. His father General Mehfooz Jan hailed from Herat, Afghanistan and was the governor of 4 provinces in Afghanistan, namely Herat, Kabul, Jalalabad and Balkh, under the Reign of King Amanullah Khan.
Adnan Sami’s father started his career by being a PAF pilot and flew the most war missions in the 1965 war against India in the entire PAF; he was awarded a gallantry award of Sitata-i-Jurat as well to be referred to as war hero for years to come.
Laterwards, he moved on to serve three presidents, Ayub Khan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Yahya Khan as their aide-de-camp (A.D.C.), however, he then joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan to serve as a diplomat.
Arshad’s stint as the chief of protocol at the Foreign Office earned him praise from his fellows as well because he proved to be a man of letters. Arshad Sami Khan with late Rajiv Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India
Pakistan’s then chief of the army staff, Zia ul Haq did not keep Arshad in his good book because he had served with Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, consequently propelling Arshad to take charge as the GM of Khaleej Times in Abu Dhabi.
However, as Arshad had learnt the art of relentless battles, he won back his association with the government of Pakistan to become a federal secretary for Information back home.
Arshad Sami Khan also authored the book ‘Three Presidents and an Aide,’ indicating that he was not merely a war veteran but also had a passion for leaving a legacy behind in the form of a book – apart from his son who became a singer.
As Pakistan and India recently had aerial combat in which the former emerged as a superior power, the name of Arshad Sami Khan flashed back in the minds of war veterans who compared the prowess of the airmen with the statements given by his son Adnan Sami.
One of Arshad’s sons, Adnan Sami who lives in India threw weight behind the Indian Air Force as it claimed to have carried out a surgical strike in Balakot area of Pakistan last week, ignoring that the same force was brought down to its knees by his late father. Twitter Ads info and privacy link link
Scrolling down the ‘anti-Pakistan’ tweets of Adnan Sami and comparing it with the valour displayed by his father to safeguard the country appears to be mind-boggling at times.
However, it is a truth that Arshad Sami Khan was and is still revered in the military and civil corridors of Pakistan though his son Adnan Sami is ‘struggling’ to garner the same respect in India.
Arshad Sami Khan breathed his last in 2009 due to cancer, leaving behind a widow, Adnan Sami, his brother and countless lessons to learn.
