Saeedullah Khan

{{short description|Pioneer officer of Pakistan Air Force (1926-2002)}}

{{Use Pakistani English|date=August 2024}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific_prefix = Air Vice Marshal

| honorific_suffix = TQA

| name = Saeedullah Khan

| native_name = {{nq|سعید اللہ خان}}

| image = Air Commodore Saeedullah Khan.jpg

| caption = Portrait, {{circa|1964}}

| office = Deputy Chief of Air Staff
Pakistan Air Force

| term_start = 22 June 1972

| term_end = 29 June 1973

| predecessor = Eric G. Hall {{small|(as Chief of Staff)}}

| successor = Chaudhary Rab Nawaz

| 1blankname = Chief of Air Staff

| 1namedata = Zafar Chaudhry

| office1 = Pakistan's Air Attaché to Washington

| term_start1 = January 1970

| term_end1 = May 1972

| successor1 = Eric G. Hall

| office2 = Deputy Managing Director
Pakistan International Airlines

| term_start2 = 29 August 1969

| term_end2 = January 1970

{{collapsed infobox section begin

| cont = yes

| Command and staff positions

| titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey;

}}

| office3 = 11th Commandant PAF Academy

| term_start3 = February 1968

| term_end3 = 28 August 1969

| successor3 = Michael John O'Brian

| office4 = Deputy Commandant PAF Staff College

| term_start4 = January 1964

| term_end4 = September 1964

| office5 = Commander PAF Station Sargodha

| term_start5 = 12 January 1962{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=daC4AAAAIAAJ&q=saeedullah|title=Shaheen: Journal of the Pakistan Air Force|page=42|year=1984}}

| term_end5 = December 1963

| successor5 = Zafar Masud

| predecessor5 = Masroor Hosain

| office6 = Commander No 33 Air Supply Wing

| term_start6 = May 1961

| term_end6 = 11 January 1962

| office7 = Commander No 32 Fighter Ground Attack Wing

| term_start7 = 5 May 1958

| term_end7 = 24 October 1958

| office8 = Commander No. 2 Squadron PAF

| term_start8 = 19 July 1956

| term_end8 = 10 April 1957

| office9 = Commander No. 9 Squadron PAF

| term_start9 = September 1953

| term_end9 = December 1955

{{Collapsed infobox section end}}

| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|07|23|df=y}}

| birth_place = Bhagalpur, British India

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2002|01|26|1926|07|23|df=y}}

| death_place = Lahore, Pakistan

| education = Government College, Lahore
No. 1 (I) SFTS
RAF Central Flying School
RAF Staff College, Andover

| branch = {{air force|British Raj}} (1945-47)
{{air force|PAK}} (1947-73)

| serviceyears = 1945–73

| rank = 40px 25px Air Vice Marshal

| battles = {{Tree list}}

• World War II
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
• Air war operations

{{Tree list/end}}

| commands = Air Attaché to Washington
Commandant PAF Academy
Director Operations 1965 War
Deputy Commandant PAF Staff College
PAF Station Sargodha
No. 33 Air Supply Wing
No. 32 FGA Wing
No. 2 Squadron PAF
No. 9 Squadron PAF

| mawards = Tamgha-e-Quaid-e-Azam (1963)

| relatives = Khalifa Mohammad Asadullah (father-in-law)

}}

Saeedullah Khan{{efn|Urdu: {{nq|سعید اللہ خان}}}} (23 July 1926 – 26 January 2002) was a Pakistani former two-star rank air officer and among the pioneer officers of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Khan served as the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff from June 1972 to June 1973. In this role, he was one of the right-hand men of Chief of Air Staff Zafar Chaudhry, alongside ACAS Operations Khaqan Abbasi and Director Air Intelligence Mufti.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aa8jAAAAMAAJ&q=22.6.|title=History of the Pakistan Air Force, 1947-1982|page=222|year=1982|isbn=978-0-19-648045-9|author1=Syed Shabbir Hussain|author2=M. Tariq Qureshi|publisher=Pakistan Air Force}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nRogAAAAMAAJ&dq=saeedullah&pg=RA1-PA80|title=Diplomatic List|year=1972|page=80}}

In the book, Flight of the Falcon, Sajad Haider wrote that Saeedullah and Khaqan were involved in a witch-hunt against PAF officers, including Sajad himself, attempting to implicate them in the Attock conspiracy at the behest of Zafar Chaudhry. Haider and other PAF officers discovered with great awe and excitement that President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto sacked Saeedullah Khan, Khaqan Abbasi, and Zafar Chaudhry from their duties due to allegations of intrigue and witch-hunting. Saeedullah and Khaqan were not allowed to attend their offices and were unceremoniously and prematurely retired when the PAF command changed under Bhutto. Sajad further notes that Saeedullah Khan retired "into oblivion", playing the stock market with Hamid Qureshi, a 1965 War drop-out. Khan later worked for a rogue financial company involved in illicit financial dealings. Sajad wrote that despite being financially honest, Saeedullah Khan was likely a victim of circumstances.Sajad Haider, FLIGHT OF THE FALCON: Demolishing myths of Indo-Pak wars 1965 & 1971, VANGUARD BOOKS, Lahore, 2009

In July 1998, Saeedullah was among 63 retired Pakistani, Indian, and Bengali armed forces personnel who signed an agreement urging Pakistan and India to refrain from developing nuclear weapons. Instead, they advocated for limiting nuclear research and development strictly to peaceful and beneficial purposes. They also called for Pakistan and India to resolve their disputes through peaceful means and address their real problems of poverty and backwardness, rather than wasting their scarce resources on acquiring means of destruction.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YSSNtPs521cC&q=Saeedullah+Khan|title=Out of the Nuclear Shadow|page=408|year=2001|isbn=978-1-84277-059-7 |last1=Kothari |first1=Smitu |last2=Mian |first2=Zia |publisher=Zed Books }}{{cite web|url=https://www.wagingpeace.org/joint-statement-against-nuclear-tests-and-weapons-by-retired-pakistani-indian-and-bangladeshi-armed-forces-personnel/|title=Joint Statement Against Nuclear Tests And Weapons By Retired Pakistani, Indian And Bangladeshi Armed Forces Personnel|date=1 July 1998|publisher=Waging Peace}}

Air Chief Marshal Anwar Shamim recalled, "I learnt a lot especially from Group Captain Saeedullah Khan. He was well read, knowledgeable, and had excellent grasp of what the PAF needed for the future. He was firm and demanded hard work from his subordinates. He was a thorough gentleman and dedicated family man. He was a well-dressed officer and also appreciated those who dressed up well. In fact, he was what one would truly call an officer and gentleman."{{cite book|title=Cutting Edge PAF: Reminiscences|year=2010|pages=142–43|author=Anwar Shamim}}