A Father’s Grief, A Nation’s Hope: Aamir Masood’s Second Mission

In a fighter cockpit, survival depends on detecting danger before it strikes. After over 35 years protecting Pakistan’s airspace, Air Marshal (Retd) Aamir Masood, HI(M), SI(M), TI(M), S Bt, brought that principle to Omer-e-Rawan: his mission to detect illnesses and psychological distress that quietly push children out of education.

It honours his beloved son, Omer Aamir, an accomplished lawyer and researcher in law, public policy, human rights and public service. Omer earned a B.A. LL.B. from LUMS in 2017 before pursuing an LL.M. at Georgetown Law. As a Georgetown Global Health Institute fellow, he studied emerging technologies’ effects on human rights and public health; his Georgetown profile also records work with the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS) and the United States Institute of Peace in Islamabad. After his passing in 2024, LUMS remembered his exceptional promise, intellect, honesty, courtesy and respect. CASS colleagues recalled a thoughtful researcher distinguished by ability, kindness and generosity. His family’s irreplaceable loss became a foundation carrying his values forward through healthcare, dignity and opportunity.

Led by Air Marshal Aamir Masood, the Omer-e-Rawan Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation licensed under Section 42 of Pakistan’s Companies Act—meaning its income must serve its public objectives and cannot be distributed to members as profit or dividends. It brings physical and mental healthcare into educational institutions, particularly for students facing financial, social or practical barriers to treatment.

Enrolment does not ensure inclusion. Poor vision, chronic illness, anxiety, trauma or an undiagnosed psychological condition can prevent learning while being mistaken for laziness, poor ability or bad behaviour; repeated absences may eventually remove a child from class. Omer-e-Rawan’s “radical inclusion” means eliminating physical, psychological and economic barriers to learning, participation and confident progress.

Its principles are Awareness, Acceptability and Access. Awareness teaches how health affects learning and trains teachers to recognise illness, emotional distress, bullying and behavioural difficulties. Acceptability reduces stigma through school counselling and psychological support, presenting emotional difficulties as genuine health concerns. Access provides screenings, counselling, telemedicine, specialist referrals and follow-up, even when families cannot afford private care, leave work repeatedly or navigate healthcare unaided.

Permanent wellness centres operate at Islamabad’s IMCG F-11/3, ICG F-6/2 and IMCB F-8/4. The foundation’s i-Care partner profile reports more than 11,000 students screened with digital health records created, over 1,150 given vision care, 165 teachers trained in physical- and mental-health awareness, and a 44 percent reduction in participants’ distress scores. One screening revealed a serious cardiac condition in a Grade 6 student. Omer-e-Rawan arranged further tests, treatment and surgery at PAF Hospital, supporting her family until she recovered and returned to class. This path from detection to recovery and renewed education demonstrated why permanent school services achieve more than occasional medical camps.

Air Marshal Aamir Masood’s institution-building experience came from the PAF. Commissioned into its General Duty (Pilot) Branch in January 1988, he accumulated about 3,500 flying hours on various fighters. An APP-published PAF profile records his command of a fighter squadron, fighter wing and operational air base, and graduation from the Combat Commanders’ School, Air War College and National Defence University. His official profile also lists instructor pilot, F-16 squadron commander and Air Officer Commanding Central Air Command. He served as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff in the Support, Training and Air Defence portfolios, retiring from Air Defence with responsibility for an essential part of national security.

He helped establish the PAF Aerospace Centre of Excellence and supervised the Centre of Artificial Intelligence and Computing. At CENTAIC’s 2020 inauguration, he explained its role in advancing AI research and PAF applications, as APP reported. Later Deputy President of CASS, he continues contributing to discussions on airpower, emerging technology and national security. His honours include the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military), Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military), Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Military) and Sitara-e-Basalat.

His long-term goal is permanent physical and mental-health support throughout Pakistan’s education system, with trained professionals, reliable referrals and measurable standards. Institutional support is growing. In December 2025, the Federal Secretary for Education visited Omer-e-Rawan’s centre at Islamabad College for Girls, F-6/2, and directed the Federal Directorate of Education to prepare an expansion plan, The News reported. In March 2026, the Islamabad Capital Territory Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority signed an agreement with the foundation to promote students’ mental, emotional and physical wellbeing in private institutions, according to APP.

Air Marshal Aamir Masood once protected Pakistan’s airspace and defence institutions; his second mission protects its children’s health, dignity and potential. Through Omer-e-Rawan, a gifted young man’s memory supports a national effort to ensure that illness, poverty or psychological distress never costs a child education and opportunity—a legacy founded on love, carried through service and dedicated to a healthier Pakistan.

Learn more from the foundation, its LinkedIn page, and Air Marshal Aamir Masood’s LinkedIn profile.