From Risalpur, with love: AVM Aurangzeb Ahmed

WEB DESK: Pakistan’s social media continues to get a steady dose of photos and stories about Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Aurangzeb Ahmed – a figure long respected within the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), but now firmly into the public spotlight.

The name is not in need of any introduction any longer for Pakistan’s audiences, and beyond, but for the still uninitiated, AVM Aurangzeb is the current Director General Public Relations of the Pakistan Air Force. He also serves as Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Operations).

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He shot up into spotlight on May 9, 2025 with a high-stakes press conference held by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Flanked by ISPR Director General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif and Pakistan Navy Spokesperson Commodore Raja Rab Nawaz, AVM Aurangzeb addressed the international media with gravity and unwavering composure, apprising them on Indian transgressions and PAF’s befitting response.

Soon after the press conference ended, Pakistan’s social media platforms lit up with pride. Netizens began piecing together fragments of AVM Aurangzeb’s career – his gallantry, his discipline, his command over crisis communication. Photos from his early years in uniform surfaced like cherished relics. Those who had served with him, studied under him, or even lived in the same neighborhood flooded timelines with anecdotes.

The hold that AVM Aurangzeb has on the nation, only intensified after the second appearance of the spokespersons trio on May 11. This time, the PAF Spox also gave a new anthem to the Pakistani nation, “I will start where I left off day before yesterday. PAF vs IAF, six-nill”.

STRAIGHT FROM RISALPUR ACADEMY

On Wednesday evening, a popular social media influencer in Pakistan, Naiha Eiman Janjua, who goes by the handle @rebelliousbrownie, shared a photo sent to her by her father – who had served with AVM Aurangzeb in the early aughts at Pakistan Air Force Academy Asghar Khan (PAFAA) in Risalpur. She shared the photo with a screenshot of a WhatsApp where Janjua’s father told her about the time when AVM Aurangzeb was a Squadron leader, performing solo aerobatics of K-8 aircraft over Islamabad and Karachi.

Soon after the photo made it to X, formerly Twitter, and now it is most likely part of the cherished photo gallery in the photo albums of the nation’s smartphones.

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The photo quickly transcended digital timelines, making its way to X (formerly Twitter), and embedding itself as a cherished symbol in the hearts of Pakistanis, likely to be found in the treasured photo galleries of countless smartphones across the nation.

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A post shared by Naiha Eiman Janjua (@rebelliousbrownie)