There is no doubt that a country without a strong Air Force is at the mercy of any aggressor. Pakistan must build up her air force as quickly as possible. It must be an efficient air force second to none,” said M A Jinnah, in April 1948.
27th Feb marks the anniversary of Pakistan Air Force’s befitting response to Indian folly of violating Pakistan’s airspace. Following Quaid’s direction, the force which had started with very meagre resources, nonexistent training facilities and handful of men, very quickly matured to shoulder its responsibilities. It has continuously been improving with acquisition of new technologies, developing indigenous capabilities, revamping training systems etc.
It faced its first challenge in 1947-48 Kashmir war. Despite its limited resources, PAF provided much needed logistic support through air drops of supplies to the troops deployed in the northern areas. To avoid IAF interceptors, initially the transport aircraft flew through the valleys and later resorted to night missions. Heroic act of Flying Officer Mukhtar Dogar defying an Indian Tempest fighter and escaping through his skilful manoeuvring defined the standards of bravery and professionalism for the future PAF generations.
In 1958, still in its infancy, the PAF set a world record by performing formation aerobatics with 16 Sabre aircraft in diamond formation. On 10th April 1959, while Pakistan was celebrating Eid, Indian Air Force (IAF) Canberra aircraft intruded for aerial reconnaissance mission. PAF air defence system detected the intrusion and scrambled two F-86 fighters. The Canberra was flying above 50,000 feet, much above the operational ceiling of F-86. Despite this disadvantage, Flight Lieutenant Yunis shot down the Canberra, marking first PAF kill. IAF pilots Sqn Ldr J C Sengupta, and Flt Lt S N Rampal ejected and were captured by Pakistani authorities. They were later repatriated, a tradition which Pakistan keeps repeating.
The 1965 war was preceded by Indian intrusions in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). In the very first encounter, Squadron Leader Sarfraz Rafiqi and Flt Lt Imtiaz Bhatti shot down two Vampires each, eliminating the entire formation. This forced IAF to withdraw 130 Vampires and about 50 Oregons from front line service, dramatically reducing the number gap between the two air forces. In another encounter, Flt Lt Yousaf Ali Khan alone engaged six Gnats and successfully brought his F-86 back for landing. Meanwhile Flt Lt Hakimm Ullah using scare of his supersonic F-104 forced Sqn Ldr Sikand to land his Gnat at Pasroor. The Gnat is on display in PAF museum.
On 6th Sept, when Indian army moved for an attack on Lahore, PAF blunted the attack by causing heavy damage to Indian armour. To keep IAF out of action, the same evening PAF attacked IAF airfields at Pathankot, Halwara and Adampur. Attack on Pathankot resulted in destruction of 10 aircraft on ground, while the other two strikes were not as successful. On 7th Sept, Sqn Ldr M M Alam shot down 5 Hunter aircraft, four in less than 30 seconds, setting a world record. During the war, PAF claimed destroying 109 IAF aircraft while losing only 19 aircraft.
During the 1971 Pakistan-India war, on the eastern front, No 14 Squadron equipped with F-86 aircraft faced 12 IAF squadrons. Despite heavy odds and being heavily outnumbered, the Squadron continued its operations till end of the war. Recognising their valour, five pilots of the Squadron were awarded Sitara-e-Jurrat. On the western front, PAF while continuing its operations was able to keep its attrition low to remain viable for the Pak Army’s counter offensive.
PAF pilots on secondment to various Arab countries for training of their air forces also participated in the Arab-Israel wars and shot down numerous aircraft including Mirage, Mystere and Vauturs without losing even a single plane.
During 1980s and 1990s PAF played an instrumental role in keeping a check on the many times larger Soviet Air Force. During these operations, PAF recorded over 13000 flight hours and shot down eight enemy aircraft without suffering any loss. In the 2001-2002 India Pakistan standoff, PAF made history by shooting down an Indian UAV with an air-to-air missile.
As a result of US and coalition operations in Afghanistan after 9/11, many terrorists crossed over into Pakistan. In the counter terrorism operations, Pakistan’s land forces initially faced difficulties against the terrorists who were occupying strategic locations in the hilly terrain. PAF’s participation in the operations helped increase effectiveness of the counter terrorist operations and reduced attrition of the ground forces. Most notable aspect of PAF’s counter terrorist operations was zero collateral damage.
In February 2019, after the stage managed Pulwama incident, when IAF undertook a failed surgical night strike inside Pakistani territory, PAF responded in less than 24 hour during broad day light. In addition to attacking across the Line of Control, PAF also downed two IAF aircraft and captured one pilot. Similarly, in January 2024, PAF was quick to respond to Iranian air space violation in Balochistan province.
PAF’s history suggests that each generation of its personnel and leadership, despite many difficulties, has always outperformed its adversaries and come up to nation’s expectations. It has proven itself to be truly an “air force second to none”. Continuing with its traditions and higher standards of professionalism will surely bring more glories to the service and ensure national security.
AIR MARSHAL (RETD) M ASHFAQUE ARAIN
–The author is a retired Air Marshal of the PAF who served as Pakistan’s Air Advisor at New Delhi from 2002-06. He can be reached at ashfaquearain@yahoo.com