Saiful Azam was laid to rest at the BAF cemetery in the Dhaka cantonment area DHAKA: Bangladesh on Monday laid to rest its legendary fighter pilot, Saiful Azam, who died at the age of 80 in Dhaka a day earlier. Azam enjoyed an eminent career that saw him serve in the air forces of four countries, including Pakistan. “He breathed his last at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka on Sunday,” Dr. Selim Azam, his younger brother, told Arab News. “His funeral prayers were held at the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) hangar in Tejgaon, Dhaka, in the afternoon.” The ceremony included a funeral parade with military protocol — with the coffin covered with the national flag — and was attended by BAF’s Air Chief Marshal Masihuzzaman Serniabat and former Chief Air Vice Marshal (retd.) Fakhrul Azam. Later in the day, he was laid to rest at the BAF cemetery in the Dhaka cantonment area. Azam began his career with the Pakistan Air Force in 1960 after completing his training in the US where he was awarded the “Top Gun” title by the United States Air Force (USAF) at the Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. Five years later, he played a vital role in the 1965 war between India and Pakistan with the latter honoring him with its third-highest gallantry award, the Sitara-e-Jurat (star of courage), “after he gunned down an Indian fighter jet near Lahore,” Ashfaq Ilahi Choudhury, a retired Air Commodore of BAF, told Arab News. In 2001, the USAF bestowed Azam and 22 other fighter pilots from around the world with the “Living Eagle” title. “He was a great fighter with an extraordinary heroic approach and was highly skilled and focused. His performance during the Indo-Pak war brought a great pride for all the people of the then East Pakistan, which is today’s independent Bangladesh,” Choudhury told Arab News. He added that Azam was sent to Jordan to train pilots there during the third Arab-Israeli War, also known as the “Six-Day War” in 1967. FASTFACT Saiful Azam was the only fighter pilot in the world to serve in the air forces of four countries. Received the highest gallantry award from the King of Jordan “But he volunteered to fly with a fighter in that war and gunned down three Israeli fighters. To date, this is the highest number of Israeli fighters gunned down by any pilots of the world,” Choudhury said. Apart from Azam’s heroic performance in the military field, he was “highly appreciated by the Iraqi government,” with Jordan and Iraq recognizing him with their top honors. “He had a vital role in the development of BAF also since it was a war-torn country at that moment. When BAF first introduced the MiG-21 fighter jet, he came forward to train the new generation of pilots,” Choudhury said. Tributes poured in on Monday for Azam who was the only fighter pilot in the world to serve in the air forces of four countries — Bangladesh, Jordan, Iraq and Pakistan. “While paying rich tributes to Group Captain (retd.) Saiful Azam, the air chief acknowledged his heroic deeds during the 1965 Indo-Pak and 1967 Arab-Israel wars,” the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) said in a statement on Monday, quoting PAF chief Mujahid Anwar Khan. Azam’s former colleagues from BAF recalled his “solid footprints” in the world aviation arena. “In the aviation world, he is an international hero who is recognized with high appreciation. He is our national pride as a fighter in the sky,” Air Vice Marshal M. Mafidur Rahman, chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), told Arab News. “We remember him with much respect. Indeed, he was an iconic fighter pilot who proved himself in all aspects — from the training field to the sky,” Rahman said. After the independence of Bangladesh, Azam joined the BAF and served in it until 1979 when he retired as a group captain. After his retirement, he served as CAAB chairman and was also a member of parliament from 1991 to 1996.