Ayesha Farooq is one of just five female fighter pilots in the Pakistani Air Force. In February, she became the first female pilot to pass the final tests to qualify for combat, and is now prepared to take on antiterror missions from Mushaf base in Punjab Province, east of Islamabad. There are about 4,000 women serving in Pakistan's armed forces, and an increasing number have signed up in recent years, although women are stilled banned from ground combat.
Pakistani only female war-ready fighter pilot
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Ayesha Farooq performs a pre-flight check on a Chinese-made F-7PG fighter jet at Mushaf base in Sargodha
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Ayesha Farooqtalks with avionics engineer Anam Hassan at Mushaf base in Sargodha
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Ayesha Farooq walks with Wing Commander of Squadron 20 Nasim Abbas (second right) and her colleagues toward a Chinese-made F-7PG fighter jet at Mushaf base in Sargodha
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Ayesha Farooq sits in the cockpit of a Chinese-made F-7PG fighter jet at Mushaf base in Sargodha