Kainat Junaid has become the first female to be selected from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for fighter pilot training in Pakistan Air Force.
Hailing from Lower Dir’s Balambat area, Kainat not only secured the top position in PAF’s test for GD Pilot but has also become Pakistan’s first female fighter pilot from KP to serve the country alongside her father.
Congratulations Miss Kainat Junaid, I have the same ambitions for to join PAF. Good Luck https://t.co/q8vJgEn502
— Moarrikh Ahmed /Aqeedat Naveed (@ahmednvd) October 14, 2019
Kainat Junaid Becomes First Female Fighter Pilot From KP and her father also serving in PAF "Squadron Leader Ahmed Junaid"
Congrats to Kainat 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/zuFJPtUun0— Govind Rai Rathore (@govindrai14) October 12, 2019
Kainat’s father, Squadron Leader Ahmed Junaid, expressed his delight over watching his daughter becoming a fighter pilot. Adding that, “I am so proud of my daughter… she is inspired by Marium Mukhtar, the first female pilot of Pakistan Air Force who sacrificed her life in the line of duty and embraced martyrdom.”
Kainat Junaid has been an exceptional student, cleared her Matric examination by obtaining 1030 marks from PAF College Badaber and topped her FSC examination by obtaining 937 marks from Jinnah College, Peshawar in 2019.
2000 female candidates had applied for three positions in PAF. Only 200 were selected for the Inter-Services Selection Board and 14 were recommended for the top position.
Read more: Ayesha Farooq – Fighter Pilot: Celebrating Pakistani Women
The people of Dir have expressed joy over her selection for fighter pilot course, exchanged felicitation with the family. Some took to social media to celebrate Kainat’s success.
PAF had started inducting women in 2006. Earlier, Flying Officer Mariam Mukhtiar was a fighter pilot in PAF. She died after a PAF FT-7PG aircraft crashed near Kundian in the Mianwali district on November 24, 2015.
Mariam was the first female officer of Pakistan Air Force who sacrificed her life in the line of duty.
The social media appreciated the selection of Kainat Junaid in PAF in a huge number, describing it symbolic for women empowerment in Pakistan. Netizen lauded the selection of a woman in PAF from Dir, a socially conservative area, where women were once barred from voting at the polling booth.
https://twitter.com/sadafnawaid/status/1183101230106796034?s=20
https://twitter.com/TeamGreen__PK/status/1183192037291646976?s=20
Her selection is termed encouraging for other women of KP and small-town girls to pursue their goals and dreams passionately.