Major Raja Aziz Bhatti (; ; 6 August 1928– 12 September 1965) born as Aziz Ahmad but usually known as Raja Aziz Bhatti, was a Pakistan Army officer. He was awarded the Nishan-e-Haider for his actions of valour during the Battle of Burki in the Indo-Pak War of 1965. He is revered as a hero of the 1965 war in Pakistan, till this day. Prior to gaining officer's commission in the Pakistan Army, Major Bhatti served in the Pakistan Air Force as an enlisted man and left the air force as a Corporal in a favor of transferring to the Army. In his brief military career, he was a staff officer working on administrative positions and widely popular as the "Muhafiz-e-Lahore" (Protector of Lahore). In 1997, he was the subject of a critically acclaimed biographical war drama telefilm, Major Raja Aziz Bhatti, produced by the ISPR and directed by Salim Tahir of the PTV. Biography Early life and military career Raja Aziz Ahmed Bhatti was born in British Hong Kong on 6 August 1928 into a Punjabi Rajput family. His family hailed from a small village about 110 miles away from the Gujrat District of the Punjab in India, who had immigrated to British Hong Kong after his father and two uncles found employment in the Hong Kong Police Force. His father, Mohammad Abdullah Bhatti, was an alumnus of the Queen's College in Hong Kong who later served as an Inspector in the Hong Kong Police Force. Aziz Bhatti was educated in Hong Kong where he completed his matriculation and attended the Queen's College but his education was halted due to the Japanese invasion and occupation of Hong Kong in 1941. He was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1944, first serving at the rank of the seaman recruit and as the tower watchman (observation post) before being directed to attend the officer school offered by the Imperial Japanese Navy due to his educational qualifications. However in December 1945, the Bhatti family relocated to India, and Aziz Bhatti enlisted to join the Royal Indian Air Force as an airman in June 1946. After the establishment of Pakistan in 1947, Bhatti joined the Pakistan Air Force and promoted as Corporal (Cpl.), which he continued to serve in the air force until 1948. Cpl. Bhatti was a prospective candidate to join the Air Force Academy in Risalpur and was known to