PAF Base Mushaf
Template:Short description Template:Use Pakistani English Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Pakistan Air Force Base Mushaf or more simply PAF Base Mushaf (formerly PAF Station Sargodha and PAF Base Sargodha), Template:Comma separated entries) is a Pakistan Air Force airbase situated at Sargodha in Punjab, Pakistan. It is designated as a "Major Operational Base" (MOB) by the PAF.[1]
It was known as PAF Base Sargodha until 2003, when it was renamed in honour of the former Base Commander and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir, whose aircraft crashed on a routine flight near Kohat in February 2003.[2][3]
The PAF's Central Air Command (CAC), the Combat Commanders' School (CCS), and the PAF Airpower Centre of Excellence (PAF ACE) are based at PAF Base Mushaf, PAF Base Mushaf is the most elite and widely operational base in Pakistan, consisting of the highest equipped aircraft and squadrons and the best trained pilots and commanders.
History
PAF Base Mushaf was originally established as an airstrip by the Royal Air Force during the 1930s. After World War II, the airstrip was one of the Sargodha Satellite Fields, and was known as Sargodha (Main). In 1959, the airstrip was commissioned as PAF Base Sargodha.[4]
During 1979, the base was home to 5 Squadron with the Dassault Mirage IIIEP, another squadron with the Mirage IIIDP, another squadron with the Mirage IIIRP and 9 Squadron with the Dassault Mirage 5PATemplate:Sfn
2007 Suicide bombing
On 1 November 2007, a suicide bomber struck the 50-seat bus carrying PAF officers to nearby Kirana Ammunition Depot, killing 11 people (including 7 officers) and injuring 28. The bombing took place on Faisalabad Road, where a motorcycle loaded with explosives rammed the bus and triggered the blast. All the officers were new recruits posted to PAFB Mushaf for training.[5]
This was the last major attack before the 2007 state of emergency was imposed on the country.
2025 India–Pakistan conflict
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".
2025 Indian Air and Missile strikes
PAF Base Mushaf was struck by Indian retaliatory air and missile strikes as a part of Operation Sindoor during the 2025 India–Pakistan conflict on 10 May 2025. Indian military claimed to have used precision weapons to strike two sections of the runway. Later satellite imagery showed a crater on the runway.[6][7][8]
See also
- List of Pakistan Air Force bases
- Sargodha Airfield Complex
- Sky Force (film), a 2025 Indian film about an attack on the base during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965
References
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Template:Air Bases of Pakistan Air Force Template:Active Pakistan Air Force bases
- ↑ PAF Base Mushaf on Scramble (Dutch Aviation Society) website Retrieved 30 September 2021
- ↑ Funeral held for Pakistan air chief (Mushaf Ali Mir) BBC News website, Published 21 February 2003, Retrieved 30 September 2021
- ↑ Sargodha Air Base named after Mushaf Dawn (newspaper), Published 30 April 2003, Retrieved 30 September 2021
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".