In 1963, he was accepted to join the Air Force Academy in Risalpur where he received his flight training on the Cessna T-37T, and graduated in General Duty Pilot (GD) course in 1965.[7]Pilot Officer Alvi participated in the second war with India in 1965, touring his duty as "Mail Runners" to convey messages from one base to another, served on this assignment until the war was ended.[7]
Pakistani Prime MinisterZulfikar Ali Bhutto sought to maintain close relationships with the Arab world. When the Yom Kippur War broke out, Alvi was one of the Pakistan Air Force fighter pilots who volunteered to go to the Middle East to support Egypt and Syria. By the time they arrived, however, Egypt and Israel had already concluded a ceasefire, and only Syria remained in an active state of war against Israel.[8] Alvi, who was serving as a flight lieutenant in 1973, joined the Syrian Air Force along with Arif Manzoor. The Pakistani fighter pilots flew in a formation using the call-sign "Shahbaz" under the command of Squadron Leader Arif Manzoor.[9]
Aerial fight over Golan according to modern Pakistani sources
On 26 April 1974, Alvi was flying a SAF MiG-21F-13 (Serial No. 1863) on deputation to No. 67A Squadron, Syrian Air Force (SAF) out of Dumayr Air Base, Syria, in an eight-ship formation with a fellow PAF pilot and the flight leader, Squadron Leader Arif Manzoor.[10][11] While leading a Mig-21 patrol along the border, Squadron Leader Arif Manzoor was apprised of the presence of two IsraeliPhantom aircraft and was cautioned that these could be decoys while two other fast tracks approaching from the opposite direction might be the real threat. The latter turned out to be Mirages and a moment later Alvi, in Arif's formation saw the no. 2 Mirage breaking towards him.[12] All this time, heavy radio jamming by Israeli ground stations was making things difficult, but the Pakistani pilots were used to such tactics. According to the same Pakistani sources, he managed to shoot down Captain Lutz, while the wingman quickly disengaged, and Captain Lutz later succumbed to wounds he sustained during ejection.[2] However, no major sources from the time reported on such an incident,[4][5][6] and there is no mention of "Captain Lutz" in Israel's Ministry of Defense's record of Israel's casualties of war.[13]
Honours
After the engagements, Flight Lieutenant Captain Sattar Alvi and Shahbaz formation leader Squadron Leader Major Arif Manzoor were awarded two of Syria's highest decorations for gallantry, the Wisaam Faris and Wisaam Shuja'at in 1973 by the President of SyriaHafez al-Assad in a public ceremony. The government of Pakistan also awarded each PAF pilot the Sitara-e-Jur'at. The prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto personally met each of them and awarded the gallantry awards in public ceremonies.