1965 war

Wreckage of one of the four Indian Vampire aircraft, which were shot down on 1 September 1965

On 1 September 1965, Sargodha Airbase was assigned an Air Defence Alert mission. Bhatti who was a flight lieutenant in No. 15 Squadron at Sargodha at that time. After completing his regular duty 0400–1200 hours, he asked to be allowed to continue for another shift. Squadron Leader Sarfaraz Rafique commander of No. 5 Squadron, accompanied him on the mission, which started around 1700 hours.^[4] On getting airborne, they were directed by the Pakistani radar at Sakesar to the Sialkot-Chamb axis, from where they vectored to Chamb-Jaurian. Once there, the two started visual search not only for the attacking aircraft, but also for the PAF C-in-C, who was reported to be making an on-site assessment of the battle in a T-37. Bhatti first spotted two Vampires crossing 3–4,000 ft underneath and informed S/L Rafique, who immediately went after the two spotted planes. Bhatti, instead of flying as a traditional wingman, broke away and sighted more Indian aircraft. Before he could go after them, he saw two more Vampires that were trying to get into position behind Rafique. He called Rafique to break and himself took care of the other two that were following Rafique.^[4]

According to the Government of Pakistan citation:

Flight Lieutenant Imtiaz Ahmad Bhatti was one of the two pilots who were on an air patrol when they were directed to intercept enemy aircraft attacking our ground forces in Chamb area. This was the first air encounter of the Indo-Pakistan War. Though heavily outnumbered, Flight Lieutenant Bhatti fought with exceptional courage and professional skill and shot down two Vampire aircraft in this engagement. This set an inspiring example for others to emulate. For his gallantry, determination and dedication to the Service he is awarded Sitara-i-Jur'at.^[5]

On 13 September, in an encounter between PAF F-86 Sabres from Sargodha and IAF Gnats from No. 2 Squadron,^[6] an Indian Gnat flown by Flt. Lt. A.N. Kale was shot down by Flt. Lt. Yusaf Ali Khan, although Kale managed to eject safely. The other Gnat, flown by Squadron Leader N. K. Malik, was engaged and damaged in air combat by Flt. Lt. Bhatti. The experienced Malik somehow managed to return to his base, but according to All India Radio the Gnat's pilot later died of wounds sustained during the combat while attempting to land.^[7] His funeral was attended by the Indian President.^[8] Yusaf Ali Khan was credited with a kill, while Bhatti was only credited with damaging a Gnat, despite later confirmation that Malik had died of his wounds and his Gnat had crashed.^[9]

1971 War

After Bhatti was promoted to the rank of squadron leader, he commanded No. 25 Squadron from 1968 to 1970, flying Shenyang FT-6s fighter/trainer jets. When the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 broke out, he kept serving with his squadron while stationed at Sargodha Airbase.^[5]

Later years

After the war, Bhatti was given command of No. 19 Squadron of PAF; he led the squadron from 1973 to 1974.^[5]