From Northeast India To Pakistan Skies: Meet Sqn Ldr Rizwan Malik Who Struck JeM Headquarters in Bahawalpur

Indian Air Force Squadron Leader Rizwan Malik, the fighter pilot from Manipur who flew deep into Pakistan’s airspace during one of the most sensitive military operations carried out by India.

New Delhi: A year after Operation Sindoor reshaped India’s counter-terror doctrine, one name has emerged from the classified layers of the mission into public memory – Indian Air Force Squadron Leader Rizwan Malik, the fighter pilot from Manipur who flew deep into Pakistan’s airspace during one of the most sensitive military operations carried out by India.

Operation Sindoor was launched on 7 May 2025, after India launched missile and air strikes targeting nine sites across Pakistani-occupied-Kashmir and Pakistan’s Punjab province.

On May 7 at around 0145 hours, India announced that the Operation Sindoor was in response to the Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, 2025, in which 26 tourists were killed.

The operation represents perhaps the most significant and daring military strikes by India on Pakistani targets since the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.

It was in this high-stakes theatre that Sqn Ldr Malik made his mark. Malik flew a Russian-origin Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter aircraft as part of an unescorted strike package tasked with penetrating heavily defended Pakistani airspace.

Despite radar locks, drone swarms and air defence threats, Sqn Ldr Malik continued with the mission and delivered precision missile strikes on terror camps.

Official details of the sortie remain classified, but accounts based on gallantry citations describe the mission as one conducted under extreme operational pressure and narrow strike windows.

The air officer reportedly served as deputy mission leader during the midnight assault.

Piloting a Su-30MKI on the first day of Operation Sindoor, Sqn Ldr Malik pin pointedly struck high-value targets, including the JeM facility in Bahawalpur. It caused significant casualties among terrorists and Pakistani forces.

All about Squadron Leader Rizwan Malik

Born into a modest family in Keikhu village, Imphal East district of Manipur, Rizwan Malik belongs to the Meitei Pangal community.

Commissioned into the Indian Air Force on June 20, 2015, he was a part of the 195th Course of the National Defence Academy. He rose to the rank of Squadron Leader in 2021.

Awarded the Vir Chakra on Independence Day, 15 August 2025, for displaying exceptional courage, precision and operational skill during high-risk strikes against terror targets across the border, he was among nine IAF officers decorated with the Vir Chakra. It is a record number awarded for a single operation in Indian military history.

For many young aspirants from Manipur and the Northeast, his journey from a village in Imphal East to the cockpit of a Su-30MKI became a reminder that dedication and discipline can open the highest doors of service.