Funeral services for Pakistan Air Force pilot Squadron Leader Massoud Hussein Chhachhar were held at Izmir Airbase

İzmir / NationalTurk – Funeral services for Pakistan Air Force pilot Squadron Leader Masood Hussain were held at Izmir Airbase on Monday at 4.00 p.m.

As a mark of close relations between Pakistan and Turkey and high esteem and respect for the Shaheed officer, Turkish Air Chief Gen. Mehmet Ertem specially flew to Izmir to participate in the funeral services. Land Forces Commander of the Aegean Region, Izmir Air Base Commander and all officers of the Base paid homage to the Shaheed officer. The funeral was attended by Gen. Recep Yüksel of Turkey’s Air Training Command, Turkish Ambassador to Islamabad Babür Hızlan, Punjab Provincial Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and ranking officers from the Pakistani Air Force. Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent laurels to the funeral.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Turkey H.E. Mr. Muhammad Haroon Shaukat, Defence and Air Attaché and officers of Pakistan Embassy also attended the funeral services. Chhachhar has been training Turkish pilots for the past two years as part of a military cooperation agreement between Turkey and Pakistan. The Pakistani Major had the most flight hours among servicemen in his rank and Turkish officials had requested to extend his tour of duty for another additional year due to “outstanding service,” the report stated.

Wrapped in Pakistani and Turkish flags, dead body was flown to Pakistan on special plane. Shaheed officer was on exchange posting to Turkish Air Force. His plane has crashed while on a routine training mission, with a Turkish under training pilot. Chhachhar was training Turkish pilot Lt. Serkan Sağır on a D-137 plane when it crashed into the Aegean Sea near the western province of İzmir, killing both pilots.

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