He passed away at the Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka on Sunday.

The 79-year-old left behind his wife, son, daughter and relatives.

His Namaj-e-Janaja was held on Monday at around 1:45pm at the parade ground (Big Top Hanger) of the BAF Base Bashar. During this time, Bangladesh Air Force organised a fly-past in honour of his departed soul, says an Inter Service Public Relation (ISPR) Directorate press release on Monday evening.

Chief of Air Staff of the BAF Air Chief Marshal Masihuzzaman Serniabat, senior BAF officials, representative of Bangladesh Army and Bangladesh Navy and members of all ranks attended his funeral.

After janaja, he was buried at Shaheen graveyard with state funeral, the ISPR press release added.

Group Captain Saiful Azam (retd) is the only military pilot served in four Air Forces (Bangladesh, Jordan, Iraq and Pakistan). He was awarded the ‘TOP GUN’ in the United States for his achievements in training and the ‘Sitara-e-Jurat’, the third highest military award of Pakistan for outstanding achievements in Indo-Pak war in 1965, it says.

Besides, Saiful Azam was also awarded the titles of ‘Wassam-al-Istiqlal’ and ‘Nawt-al Shuja’ by Jordan and Iraq. He was awarded military titles in three countries – it is a world record.

After independence, he returned to Bangladesh in 1974 and joined the Bangladesh Air Force. Later, he retired in 1978 after performing various important duties in the Bangladesh Air Force.

In 2000, the United States honoured him with the title of ‘Living Eagle’. He was one of the 22 recipients of this unique title in the world, the ISPR release says.