Wings of Duty — Page 23

Partition In 1947 I was transferred under a special programme to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and began to fly with Indian National Airways in Delhi. The situation in Punjab had already started to deteriorate because of the looming independence and partition of India. In July, I had to go to Qadian after learning of the death of my father, Dr Mir Muhammad Ismail. Due to nationwide disturbances, means of communication and travel routes were greatly disrupted. I received the news of his passing very late and the train journey took so long that I only reached Qadian two days after his funeral. After remaining there for a few days, I returned to Delhi to resume my work. While I was in Qadian, I learnt that under Huzoor’s instructions the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community had purchased a small two-seater Stinson L-5 airplane. A few days earlier, Deputy Muhammad Latif—whom I have mentioned already—had brought the plane to Qadian and landed it on the main road of Darul Anwar that was to the east of the Al-Nusrat residence. Electricity poles and wires ran the length of this path, therefore, there