Air Marshal Mohammed Azim Daudpota (:14 September 1933 – 3 April 2017;), commonly known as Azim Daudpota, was the first Sindhi pilot in

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

and the first Sindhi to receive the

Sitara-e-Jurrat Sitara-e-Jurat (, Star of Courage) is the third highest military award of Pakistan. It was established in 1957 after Pakistan became a republic; however, it was instituted retrospectively back to 1947. It is awarded for Courage, gallantry or dist ...

(Star of Bravery) Award. He was a

three-star officer Military star ranking is military terminology, used to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One–star A one–star rank is usually the lowest ranking general or fla ...

in the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

who went on to serve as the Chief of Air Staff of Air Force of Zimbabwe, and then to briefly serve as Governor of Sindh.

Early life

Azim Daudpota was born on 14 September 1933 in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

(now called

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. His father, Umar Bin Muhammad Daudpota, was a Sindhi research scholar, linguist and a historian of the Indus valley. After his basic education at

St. Patrick's High School, Karachi , motto_translation = Through hardships to the stars , location = Saddar Town, Sindh , city = Karachi , province = , country = Pakistan , coordinates = , established = , foun ...

, he completed his college education at

D. J. Sindh Government Science College Dayaram Jethamal Sindh Government Science College, ( sd, ) commonly known as DJ Science College, is a public community college that is affiliated with the University of Karachi — it is located near Burns Road in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Pre ...

, Karachi in 1951.

Air force career

Daudpota joined the

Pakistan Air Force Academy The Pakistan Air Force Academy Asghar Khan ( ur, ) is an accredited three-year military academy which provides undergraduate education to officer candidates for the Pakistan Air Force. The eligible and selected candidates from all over Pakista ...

in 1951. The following year, he commenced a course of training at

Royal Australian Air Force Academy Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

from where he graduated in 1955. After service as a pilot and then as Squadron Commander of numbers 15 and 17; he attended the

PAF Staff College PAF Air War College Institute is the Pakistan Air Force academic establishment providing training and education primarily to the mid-career officers of PAF as well as to limited number of officers from Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Army and officers ...

before serving on the staff of the Pakistani High Commission in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

. After a further period of training at the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest lev ...

in London, Daudpota commanded PAF Bases Rafiqui and Sargodha.

Chief of Zimbabwe Air Force

In 1983 the Zimbabweans sought assistance from Pakistan as they wanted to replace the former Rhodesian officer who then headed the Air Force of Zimbabwe. Daudpota was selected and served as Commander of the Air Force of Zimbabwe from July 1983 to January 1986.

Civilian work

On his return to Pakistan, Daudpota became the Managing Director and Chairman Of

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...

from January 1986 to April 1990. He became the Chairman of Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation. He joined Kashmir Corporation as an Executive Director in April 1990; from 25 October 1999 to 24 May 2000, Daudpota also became the Governor of Sindh (1999 - 2000). At the time of his death, he was the chairman of the board at MacPac Films Limited, a company that makes raw material for packaging.

Honours and recognition

* Sitara-e-Jurat (Star of Courage) Award by the President of Pakistan in 1965 War against India. *

Sitara-e-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the ...

(Star of Excellence) Award by the President of Pakistan. * Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) by the President of Pakistan. * Order of Merit by the

President of Zimbabwe The president of Zimbabwe is the head of state of Zimbabwe and head of the executive branch of the government of Zimbabwe. The president chairs the national cabinet and is the chief commanding authority of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. The i ...

in 1986.

Death

Azim Daudpota died on 3 April 2017 in Karachi at age 83 after battling a number of illnesses and died of cardiac arrest. He was buried at

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

's Faisal Airbase graveyard in Karachi.

Awards and Decorations

Foreign Decorations

References

External links

Dawn.com - The educated of Sindh - Air Marshal Azim Daudpoto
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Daudpoto, Azim 1933 births 2017 deaths D. J. Sindh Government Science College alumni St. Patrick's High School, Karachi alumni Pakistan Air Force air marshals Air Force of Zimbabwe Pakistan Hockey Federation presidents Pakistani expatriates in Zimbabwe Pakistan International Airlines people Military personnel from Mumbai Pakistani expatriates in Australia Recipients of Sitara-e-Jurat Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz