Legendary PAF fighter pilot Group Captain (r) Saiful Azam passes away in Bangladesh.

ISLAMABAD -- Legendary fighter pilot Saiful Azam, who was awarded Sitara-i-Jura'at for his heroics in the 1965 war against India, breathed his last in Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Sunday morning, according to officials and media reports.

The 80-year-old retired group captain died at his residence, local newspaper Jugantor said. He had been suffering from various old-age complications for a long time.

Bangladeshi army's mouthpiece Inter Service Public Relation Directorate also confirmed the death to Anadolu Agency over the phone.

'We came to know about his death but we have not published it on our official web page as he is a retired official,' ISPR Director Lt. Col. Abdullah Ibn Zaid said.

Pakistan Air Force Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan expressed heartfelt grief on the demise of the great war veteran, according to a press release by PAF's media wing. PAF chief paid rich tribute to Azam, saying that the former fighter pilot will always be remembered for his professionalism and his part in the 1965 Indo-Pak and 1967 Arab-Israel wars.

According to media, Azam was born in then East Bengal's Pabna District in 1941. He left home at 18 to enlist in PAF and was commissioned as a Pakistani fighter pilot in 1960.

During the 1965 war, he served in No. 17 Squadron at PAF's Sargodha base. Apart from inflicting...