TREASURER ISLAND - Authored by Wg.Cdr. Muazzam Ali Sheikh: W-594 Iqbal / Fury House. Nostalgia and glorious history of 50 yrs,shared with family and friends as a common heritage. There are exciting surprises for every one who shared even a moment with me . I have tried to document and share it with my course mates comrades and friends. LOWER TOPA: W- ENTRY. I Will Dare
27 May 1967, 50 young boys
12-13 years selected on merit, from among hundreds of candidates from East and West Pakistan, joined Lower Topa with a dream ---- to become MM Alam 65 War Hero of PAF. It was the finest Boarding School (with no expense), established and run by Britishers on the lines of Public Schools in UK. The School was ideally located in Murree Hills. It had excellent traditions in education and Pre- Cadet training with highly experienced and devoted staff. It was a Nursery for grooming and inducting selected cadets to PAF. All of sudden, the school was to be closed. We were packed in a train and shifted to PAF College Sargodha in Sep 67. What a contrast, from serene and cool to the hottest and thundering noises of Fighter Jets. We were the last Topian entry ( till revival again in 1997). SARGODHA: W / 17 th: ENTRY. Aim High
AT Sargodha, 17th entry also joined our batch as Pre Cadets in Class 8th and our strength rose to 75. LOWER TOPA:
After five years of thorough grooming in all aspects needed for induction in PAF went through ISSB. Those selected packed their baggage to move again to Lower Topa . Some friends changed their career paths to become Doctors, Engineers, joined Army and Civil Service to build a New Pakistan. We were 25 left out of 75. Another 25 joined from civil, to become a batch of 50 FLT. Gallant 59th GD (P)
Air Cdr.Muhammad Tariq Qureshi. Our favourite English Teacher and Writer of PAF History commented and I quote. "It was my good fortune to be associated with the Gallant 59th GD (P). A secret I break today, I got bored at the Academy when I couldn't find another 59th!! They were everything - sportsmen, scholars, debaters, actors. We had great time with the Assistant Commandant Khilji Sahib chasing us. One of them became the CAS; first he acted in my play - The Great Catherine!!" He is ex CAS Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman.
