On a drizzly cold night in Dec of 1965 I found myself traveling  with my father to see the Tienanmen Square from our Sinchou hotel located close to the old city. I had just arrived from Pakistan via Canton on an ex-PIA Viscount turbo-prop of CAAC, the Chinese airline, and it seemed that I had landed on an alien planet. Everything was different here. The bread was white (steamed bread), music was string percussion, no one spoke English and bicycles were everywhere. Traveling on a two piece electric bus that silently carried the huddled Chinese in their quilt coats was a novelty for an eleven year old. I had seen photos of the Tienamen Square, but experiencing it at night for the first time with well light anchor buildings was a sensory overload. This was my introduction to the Pre-Cultural Revolution China, where my sense of novelty was only matched by the curiosity Chinese around me. I later on got to realized that I was only a handful of foreigners in the city and country where  PIA’s Boeing 707 was the only jet servicing the whole country. Here was a dark kid with a pointy nose in a mass of not so dark and not so pointy nosed people.

The New York Times reports, “Once banned by Mao Zedong as a bourgeois activity, stamp collecting has become increasingly popular in China in recent years. While early collectors were from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the international Chinese diaspora, some important Mainland Chinese collectors are today ‘repatriating’ stamps, in the same way that others are bringing back Chinese artworks.”

Early Experiences

China was an isolated country in those days. Nonetheless it had good relations with two Muslim countries of Pakistan and Albania because of their support in international forums.  Pakistan Chancery was therefore given priority to move to San Li Tun, which was designated as the new diplomatic enclave at the edge of the city. We moved to our new home in a new multi-story apartment that was lavish by Chinese standards. I had a unique opportunity to meet kids of diplomats from different parts of the world at a time when there was no TV, internet of iPod.

I was fascinated by the main bazaar serviced by Wang Fu Ching which was a larger version of Anarkali. It had all sorts of small shops and restaurants from different parts of China. A popular desert was apple on a stick dipped in sugar syrup. Water melons with yellow center seemed to accentuate the other worldliness of the place. Next to Wang Fu Ching was a store meant for foreigners, filled with Chinese manufactured goods that were not available to the masses. For some reason it was full of desk clocks. The covered bazaar behind that store was filled with antiques that my parents loved to shop. There were incredibly intricate pieces of art being sold at throw away prices. The huge meat shop behind the covered bazaar was full of hanging pork carcasses was quite shocking for a boy from Pakistan. My favorite restaurant was the Peking Duck restaurant where the entire meal consisted of  a specially raised Peking Duck. I can still taste the crispy skin for the appetizer.It took me a while getting used to eating Chinese style where they served one dish at a time. The soup was served at the end of the meal after you had watched sumptuous dishes go by as you had filled yourself by the fourth dish. My favorite park was BeiHai Park that had a large lake where I could row a rented boat. It was dominated with a large white pagoda on an island in the middle.

I found the Great Wall to be quite a disappointment. It is difficult for a kid to get too excited about a wall. The Ming tombs on the other hand were a case of Pharaohs combined with Sherlock Holmes.  The Ming tombs of the thirteen Ming emperors located about thirty miles outside Beijing contained their belongings and even food. The entrance of each tomb was secretly sealed and the workers were killed to keep it a secret from looters. When I visited them only three had been opened up. The Temple of Heaven had a circular platform where it was believed that the Emperor would rotate the earth with his feet as it was considered the center of the Earth.

The Forbidden City where the Emperors used to spend the winters was cold and stark. On the other hand the Summer Palace outside Beijing was a wonderfully relaxing place with large lakes and surrounding hills. The place was full of intricately ornate buildings and statues.  Larger house boats were there to take larger parties out on the Kunming lake.

Cultural Insights

I was struck by the extreme respect for elders and children in the Chinese society. I had thought that Pakistani society was not too shabby in this respect.  This respect was most visible when traveling in a bus. The buses were the main mode of transportation and they were invariably full. But no matter how full a bus was, if an older person or a person carrying a child got onto the bus, he or she was assured a seat.

I used to kid our Pakistani help by the name of Walayat Khan who would always get to sit as he would be carrying my sister Ayesha shown on the left.  I can only imagine how hard it must have been for the Chinese to implement the one child policy given their adoration for their children. I saw many older Chinese women who had trouble walking as their feet were kept artificially small using foot binding. Apparently it had been fashionable at one time to have small feet. I was fascinated by the Chinese fairy tales narrated to me by Wang, our Chinese help. China has a large collection of fairy tales with Fox spirits that can change forms.  Living in a diplomatic enclave gave me an opportunity to interact with kids of my age from a number of different countries.  Watching Beatles movies in the British embassy in the heart of pre-cultural revolution Beijing was a culturally a shocking experience.

The May 1st.  Labor Day is celebrated as one of major holidays. The central event is a huge parade in the Tienanmen Square with the biggest firework display that I have ever seen. I got to see it in an enclosure next to Chairman Mao Zedong. The fireworks happen concurrent at three levels. The lower level is generally an on going firing of dense fireworks from the square. The second level is higher altitude from an area surrounding the square, and the third level of fireworks were actually fired by anti aircraft guns and exploded at a fairly high altitude. The complexity of fireworks was further enhanced by the synchronized dance of anti aircraft lights mounted around the city. It is difficult to describe the visual art created by the synchronized luminance of constructs slowly gliding down the sky gently nudged tangentially by the wind in the back drop of a millions of humans marching in front of you.

Cultural Revolution

At times the course of human affairs takes on an intensity and complexity of such proportions that it takes decades to understand it. Cultural Revolution was one such event of the human era, and I was lucky to see it from the front seat without being scarred by it. It was a clash of mega proportions that erupted in an instance. The sleeping Chinese Dragon was waking up after being colonized but was not sure about its new values. The old guard saw in its weakness as an opportunity to assert itself, but the new power elite was not going to let it take China back to the old ways which had failed to protect it from being exploited by the foreign powers.

“Although the bourgeoisie has been overthrown, it is still trying to use the old ideas, culture, customs, and habits of the exploiting classes to corrupt the masses, capture their minds, and endeavor to stage a comeback. The proletariat must do just the opposite: It must meet head-on every challenge of the bourgeoisie in the ideological field and use the new ideas, culture, customs, and habits of the proletariat to change the mental outlook of the whole of society. At present, our objective is to struggle against and crush those persons in authority who are taking the capitalist road, to criticize and repudiate the reactionary bourgeois academic “authorities” and the ideology of the bourgeoisie and all other exploiting classes and to transform education, literature and art, and all other parts of the superstructure that do not correspond to the socialist economic base, so as to facilitate the consolidation and development of the socialist system.”

I was enrolled in a missionary school of Convent of Jesus and Mary, which was the only English medium available for the foreign children. I had enjoyed learning about world geography and history. But one fine day when I turned into the road where the school was located I was surprised to see a large number of young Red Guards occupying the school and was turned away. I later learned that the nuns and priests were charged with spying and the school had been permanently closed. This was a huge setback for all the children who were enrolled there.

The art teacher who used to come to our house to teach Chinese art to my mother also vanished and we learned later that he was considered a revisionist. Anyone charged as being a revisionist was publicly disgraced by being paraded on a truck around the city with a placard of his counter revolutionary acts hanging around his head. These were very bewildering times as eleven million Red Guards paraded around the city. The speakers located on most central public roads blared national songs and propaganda. The result of listening to those songs is that I still know two of the songs even though I made no attempt to learning them. One of the songs is “The East is Red” that can also be seen below.

Freedom

With no school and parents busy in their diplomatic activities, I found my self in nearly complete freedom. With a brand new Chinese bicycle in possession, I set out to see Peking from one end to the other.  My favorite destinations used to be museums, parks, sports events, movies and theatrical shows. My friends had a competition to find interesting places that were off the main areas and trade these secrets with each other.  I  watched each and every table tennis, gymnastics, volleyball and badminton games played in multi-day competitions.

The Military museum had artifacts dating back to the communist party struggle against the Nationalists who were much better armed with planes and tanks. What struck me were the grass samples that the communist leaders and others ate during their Long March. It drove home the point that when the people are motivated, it is the spirit that can overcome the deficiency in weapons.

The Peking Zoo had some of the most exotic animals. Some of them like the Giant Pandas, certain types of storks and oxens were indigenous to China.  While it was not a large zoo, it allowed spectators to get much closer to the animals than any other zoo that I have been to.

The public bus system of Peking was very extensive and if you had a pass you could go from one end of Peking to another without even changing the bus.  No school meant having the opportunity to do just that all day long.

Deification of Mao

Chairman Mao was the closest thing to God. Anyone who shook his hand, people would come and shake his hand. The communist party did a great job in using the medium of art to project their values and visions of the future.  The walls around the city had huge billboards with art work that showed how they wanted to see their country in the years to come.  It seemed that the country was bursting with energy like a stem cell, and the communist party was trying to guide that energy to a bigger and brighter future that was egalitarian.

The created many musical and theatrical productions to convey this message. I had the opportunity to experience the fervor that they created amongst the viewers.  This was also true of many movies that showed the successful struggles of masses against the oppressors, whether they were foreign or local.

Return to Pakistan

My parents decided that I have had enough fun and it was time to get back into the education system. The Principal of Cadet College of Hasan Abdal had mercy on me and admitted me even though I did not do well in Urdu. I flew out of Shanghai on a PIA Being 707 and happened to be the only passenger on it. On the way it stopped in Canton at 1 am in the morning. There were passengers from a couple of Ilushin turbo props from North Vietnam and Laos already at the airport.  The Chinese had organized a short cultural program for the passengers of these airlines. So they all waited for the single passenger from this huge plane to come down and witness the show. As the show ended, the single passenger walked away into his standing Boeing. Thus bringing his journey through the tumultuous  China to an end in a cultural crescendo that faded into the night as the Boeing climbed out of the clouds headed for Dacca, being fussed over by seven air hostesses and staff.

Pakistan China Friendship

The work done by members of the Pakistan Embassy in those defining times laid the foundation of Pakistan China friendship. The result of those efforts is that there are now approximately 10,000 Chinese workers  engaged in 120 projects in Pakistan, which includes heavy engineering, power generation, mining, and telecommunications. One of the high visibility project is the jointly developed JF-17 amongst many other defense related joint projects.

“The cause of such high prices of Chinese stamps is to some extent simply because that the regular China stamp has generally included a tremendous amount of fine detail and been manufactured under incredibly high standards. These high standards have acquired Chinese stamps extensive recognition amidst passionate stamp enthusiasts over the years, and it is easy to recognize the quality of workmanship and creativity that get into each and every stamp. Chinese culture has sustained for thousands of years. Its stamps are soaked in history, and easily tell a story that has lived with for generations without count.”

You can view some of my Chinese stamp collection by clicking on the image below.

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Pakistan was the first Muslim country to recognize China in 1950 and the third non communist state. Pakistan then voted for a bill concerning the restoration of China’s legitimate rights in the UN. PIA became the first non-communist airline to fly into China in 1964.

All Eggs in One Basket

The real transformation came when USA cut off all spares and other support such as training courses etc. both to India and Pakistan on breakout of 1965 Indo-Pak War. It did not hurt India much as they were mostly dependent on USSR. It had a few US transport twin piston-engine C-118 Packets with a third jet engine specially positioned on top of fuselage. It was specially designed for operations from high altitude airfields such as Leh, after Indo-China War of 1962. (As a POW we flew in one from Calcutta to Nagpur on way to our camp at Jabbalpur. Aircraft was in a rickety dilapidated shape due to poor maintenance).This sudden cutting off of support effected Pakistan very adversely.  PAF very significantly effected as it had all her eggs in one (US ) basket. After partition, PAF had acquired first 60 Sea Fury fighters in1950, then followed by 12 jet Attackers from UK. In addition, for transportation, PAF replaced 8 odd C-47 Dakotas with (110 yes 110 ) British Bristol Freighters. We needed at the most 12 transport aircraft, but our RAF CinC bought 110 of them. We got a raw deal from Britishers in  Attacker and Freighter sales inter alia many others – thanks to RAF CinC and other senior seconded RAF officers. Pakistan could only afford these small numbers with its own honest money. After joining  CENTO and SEATO PAF went whole hog for better US aircraft, acquiring 100 F-86s, 12 F-104s, approx 10 B-57s, 12 or so C-130s, and number of search and rescue helicopters and amphibians.

Mauripur Base in the 50s. Click on it to enlarge.

“These picture shows most of the newly acquired US planes. I was there with my newly raised 16 Squadron ( Motto as suggested by late Group Captain Mahmood (Edu) ‘ tendrust o tenumend  o drusht zee”. As you would observe, the birds are clean without drops. Nur Khan led the fly-past of ninety six clean F86s, taking off from old short 040 runway, climbing to 35,000 feet. From there diving and streaking over city at high speed 1,500 feet high. Luckily no bird hit even though the area was infested with them. Some pilots had very few hours on F86s; No 16 Squadron had then Pilot Officers late Akhtar (Air Commodore, Comdt Staff College) and P/O Riaz (Heli pilot later) who had only 5 hours or so on the type. 96 aircrafts lined up for take off on short 04, at 98 % power crammed up together was not a joke. Recovery was even more remarkable as the runway was not only short but it had at the end a 2 feet high lip of main runway 27 under construction.“

US Embargo Dilemma

Faced with this dilemma due to US embargo, PAF frantically looked around for replacements, but nothing was available soon and within our means. Though most of our top brass including President Ayub Khan, under the influence and over-awed by the West, had to eat the crow and beg China to help. For example, Chinese PM Chou En Lai, with his far sightedness first offered the construction of Karakoram Highway in1962. Pakistan turned it down lest USA got annoyed. Air Marshal Asghar Khan was sent to Peking during the War for immediate procurement of the aircraft and for the Chinese double barreled, very effective, 12.5 mm Ack Ack guns. Chinese PM graciously and promptly agreed to meet our request with the proviso that FM Ayub Khan will have to personally make the request. This he did soon after the war towards end of September. He visited Peking meekishly and very secretly lest USA got peeved.  On advice from our Foreign Office, dominated by Brown Sahibs, Air Marshal Asghar suggested to Chou En Lai that these aircraft may be crated and secretly shipped to Jakarta, and from there to Karachi. Thus giving the impression to West that, just like Indonesian Submarines, these aircraft too have been obtained from there. It was an immature, time consuming and childish proposal.

Premier Chou-En-Lai

“One of the worlds greatest person PM Chou En Lai having exclusive lunch with our Ambassador M Sultan Khan and his wife Abida in the Embassy (Embassy is where Ambassadors live , Chancery is their office which is mistakenly called Embassy ) Occasion being the visit of M Shahabuddin, brother of first Pakistani PM Nazimuddin,( ex Chief Minister of combined Bengal pre-partition. He was a very honest but simple man who left little assets. His wife was living in a small house in some remote Karachi Colony till 1980 when Gen Zia allotted her some decent house.)  Shahabuddin then was probably Speaker of Parliament.”

Chou En Lai immediately shot it down and said that these will be made available at airbase like Hotian. It will be very easy to ferry them across to Pakistan from there. During this meeting Chinese PM enquired from AM as to how long it will take PAF pilots to achieve the necessary proficiency. Asghar Khan replied that our pilots are experienced aviators; they would not take more than 10 to 15 days. Remarkably PM disagreed and said that unlike your planes, these are equipped with metric systems, have configurations different from Western aircraft, and most of all there would be language problems. He thus opined it would require 6 to 8 weeks for transition. And it took that much. To highlight this, it took our pilots nearly one week to understand that switches on panels on right side of cockpit are in fact ‘circuit breakers’ and not switches as these appeared to be.  China provided initially sixty F-6 aircraft along with tanks, arms and ordinance for 3 Army Divisons, large number of AA guns and ammunition etc..

Pakistani Air and Military Attaches with Chinese Military Leaders

And it was done almost free of cost and within days. One point always bothered the Chinese. China following policy of conservation, objected to our scales of ammunition. They said we follow American pattern of firing to frighten where as we should fire to kill. This reminds me, once in 1962 at PAF Naltar attending Ski Course we 5 or 6 Wing Commanders went for Chakor shikar. We fired about two dozen cartridges but could not kill a single bird. Next day one local bearer took 4 cartridges, in the evening he brought 3 chakors and returned one unused cartridge. When we inquired, he said they approach bird behind a colorful shield and fired only after reaching it close,

First batch of PAF pilots reached China in early Oct’65, where they were stationed sixty miles south of Tientsin Harbour. Base facilities were spartan but clean. Accommodation and food was prepared under Muslim requirements. They flew about 10 to 15 missions each on F-6, Chinese built Mig-19 aircraft. As stated earlier, China then made all efforts to conserve. F-6s. They were thus fully covered and protected from sun and dust. They were taken close to beginning of runway; covers were removed at the last moment and mission accomplished from thereon. Protective measures were undertaken immediately after landing. Not a single fault occurred during training of the two batches of six pilots each, except one malfunctioning of a gauge. This was remarkable achievement. Life style was simple. The airfield was about a mile away from the residential area. When one of our pilots had hairline crack of ankle, he was provided with a cycle, otherwise every one walked.

Air Marshal Nur Khan’s Visit

CinC PAF Air Marshal Nur Khan paid two visits to China during my tenure as Air Attache at Peking. The first one was in Nov’65 and second in Dec’67.

AM Nur Khan with Premier Chou En Lai

The above picture was taken during first visit , when he was accompanied by AVM Qadir, Air Cdre Z A Chaudhry, Air Cdre Khawaja Maint, my course mate Grp Capt S H Shah, Grp Capt Khawaja Supply and Group Capt Mustafa. Embassy is represented by Minister Durrani (in grey suit in front row) and First Secy Yunus next to me behind Minister Durrani.  Normally PM Chou En Lai did not meet Military Chiefs, but he had liking for Nur Khan and thus graciously had dinner with him followed by this photograph.

The visit was to review the progress of procurement of aircraft, tanks and other equipment. It also included a visit to the air base where our pilots were undergoing. Aircraft unserviceability was zero, Base workshop produced most of the spare parts themselves despite  the fact that their workshops were not as well equipped as ours, according to Air Cdre Khawaja, ACAS Maint. They were remarkably self sufficient in every thing including food, vegetables, etc.

F-6 Aircraft

Newly Minted F-6s arriving in Pakistan

F-6 had good power weight ratio of 86 %, giving it a lot of kick and maneuverability even at high altitude. But it was not a perfect aircraft. A serious problem faced in these aircraft was turbine buckets melting away or detaching and piercing through the other engine or pipes causing it afire. This was due to poor Russian metallurgy. Engines required change of the turbine buckets after every 100 hours. This was in contrast to an F104 engine requiring Inspection and Replacement if required (IRAN) after 1200 hours. PAF installed British Martin Baker ejection seats amongst many other changes. Maintenance wise F-6 was a labor intensive aircraft when compared to US aircraft. Latter having modular systems which are expensive but efficient. F-6 was not pilot friendly aircraft in an emergency and cost us many lives.

On the whole, however, the F-6 was a great acquisition considering that these were provided promptly at a crucial juncture; when we were against the wall and not being able to fill the requirement from any other source. To top it off these were almost free of cost, thanks to the Chinese government and in particular PM Chou En Lai. They have thus earned our gratitude, goodwill and trust, despite our leader’s penchant for the West.

Multi Faceted Relationship

The efforts put in to developing an exemplary relationship by people of both countries in those days, has paid dividends across the board. We now have collaboration in both civil and defense industries. The Karakoram Highway and Gwadar Port are two mega projects that have the potential to transform the social landscape. While there are many lessons to derive from the experience, there are some that truly stand out.

Lessons To Learn

The first lesson is never to put all our key assets at the mercy of any one country. Despite our experience after 1965 we still tried to buy US F-16s and even paid for many of them, only to see their delivery embargoed and money not returned. In contrast the collaboration on JF-17 and other projects with the Chinese have borne fruit. Becoming self sufficient in essential items is a lesson to learn from the Chinese.

The other important lesson is to lead a simple life style and live within ones means. China when it became independent was in much worse shape than Pakistan. Chinese have shown that by living simply and focusing on important things, with correct priorities, they can achieve wonders. We can better protect our interests and sovereignty if we avoid dependence on aid and learn to stand on our feet. Is it too much to ask?

The author was commissioned in 5^th GD(P) Course in 1949 and has the unique honour of winning the coveted Sword of Honour, Best Pilot Trophy and Ground Subjects Trophy. He later raised and commanded No 16 Squadron (F-86F), two fighter Wings (No 32 Fighter Ground Attack Wing and No 33 Fighter Ground Attack Wing). Served as  the first  Air Attache in Peking China after 1965 war. He commanded two Bases, viz PAF Base Peshawar and PAF Base Dacca. At the latter Base, he was also AOC East Pakistan during 1971. He was appointed as ACAS (Ops) after repatriation as a POW. His last appointment within PAF was as  first Air Officer Commanding, Air Defence Command. Following that, in 1976 he was appointed as the  first DG JS in the newly established JCSC Headquarters.  In 1979 he was inducted in th Federal Cabinet, from where he resigned and retired from PAFin 1982. He is the recipient of the second highest military award, Hilal-e-Juraat.

Editor’s Note: I am thankful to the author for sharing pictures from his personal collection with the public.

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Pakistan’s current export of engineering goods stands at around $243 million out of total exports of $19 Billion. If we are to also include $300 Million in defense oriented exports and $169 Million in Software products and services exports, the total high margin high tech industrial export is a meager $712 Million for last year.

Bulk of Pakistan’s exports is either in commodities or in textiles.Both these categories are low margin and resource intensive in nature. Because of Pakistan’s inability to generate foreign exchange it has to depend on unpredictable foreign remittances and foreign aid.This increased dependence is resulting in increasingly intrusive terms associated with such packages, as exemplified by the Kerry-Lugar Bill. The cost of maintaining the seventh largest armed forces cannot be maintained by export of commodities and textiles. The defense equipment unit costs are in the order of $80 Million per aircraft and $300 Million per submarine. This structural weakness is strategically going to have an adverse impact on Pakistan’s defense posture as well as the ability to provide an adequate standard of living for her increasing population. Pakistan has many things going for it that should help her in overcoming these shortcomings if the leadership decides to make the necessary structural changes and put into place longer term plans. Most developed nations transitioned from being agrarian societies into modern post-industrial societies over centuries. Pakistan on the other hand needs to make this transition within the next twenty years or it will slide even further backwards with respect to countries in its neighborhood.
There is no reason why Pakistan’s high tech exports over the next twenty year period should not be more than $60 Billion per year based on the number of quality engineers she creates and her investments defense and infrastructure. This will not happen in a haphazard manner of stove pipe thinking and lack of focus and planning. There is a need for establishing a long term plan (over 20 years) which focuses resources in just a couple of markets. By excelling globally in those markets will bring in the necessary Return On Investments (ROI). Pakistani defense forces have developed capabilities to produce complex weapon systems. No leading defense manufacturer in the world is run by a defense force. There are many reasons, too numerous to enumerate here. Pakistan needs to transition the defense industry to responsible civil ownership that is globally competitive. Pakistan can overcome lack of middle and top management by engaging the Pakistani technical diaspora. She needs to create an eco system that is conducive to the growth of technical entrepreneurs. We have the world’s premier manufacturing base in China that could be leveraged in all sorts of ways. The leading educational institutions and research laboratories should be challenged to create intellectual property to excel in the targeted industries. Some percentage of defense expenditure should be channeled to funding research in these institutes in a model similar to that of DARPA in the US. A public private venture fund needs to be created that will fund the startups in the selected areas. The pace can be further accelerated by buying foreign companies. The diaspora can identify and provide the senior management needed of these key technology acquisitions.
Should we choose to make these changes; the impact will be felt across the society as the new wealth can be channeled towards the well being of the general population.

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The US embargo on military sales to Pakistan at the outbreak of 1965 Indo-Pak War was received with dismay and disbelief by the PAF, whose combat and training aircraft were totally of US origin. Already starting to get outclassed by more modern aircraft, the F-86Fs, F-104s and B-57s were now plagued by spares support problems that rendered them virtually worthless in the PAF. The C-in-C of the PAF, Air Marshal Nur Khan who had cannily led the force during the war, sensed the criticality of the situation and started an immediate search for suitable aircraft from new sources. Unfortunately for Pakistan, geopolitical realities restricted most available options. Pakistan’s CENTO and SEATO memberships hardly endeared her to the Soviets. The Indians had already made inroads to Moscow and the first shipment of six MiG-21s had made its operational debut during the 1965 War. The Soviets saw India not only as a socialist ideologue that could be helped militarily, but as its influential proxy and mouthpiece in the Non-Aligned Movement. The prospect of Soviets and Pakistanis developing any kind of patron-client linkage, thus, came to be a non-starter.

China, in the throes of the Cultural Revolution, had not shown much interest in developing newer aircraft technologies for the time being. Content with the copy of Soviet-supplied MiG-19s, China mass-produced this single-role fighter in thousands. When Pakistan approached China for military help in 1966, she was only too glad to offer the F-6 as a token of friendship, the initial batch of 60 being free of cost. Though limited in range, speed and weapons payload, PAF inducted the aircraft and assigned it the day interceptor role with a secondary close air support task, which it dutifully went on to perform over the next 36 years.

A Quirky Fighter

The MiG-19 (Mikoyan and Gurevich) was the first supersonic fighter of the Soviet-bloc, making its prototype debut in late 1953; it was contemporaneous with the North American F-100 Super Sabre, the first supersonic fighter of the West. The MiG-19 sported audaciously swept-back wings which, at 55 degrees, were considered the right answer to drag rise during high speed flight, but were also problematic at low speeds due to the lower lift-generating ability of such wings. Designers increased wing thickness to ensure enough lift at low speeds, but more lift meant more drag in another form. Two powerful afterburning RD-9B turbojet engines pushed the aircraft out of this jumble and gave it a respectable status of a transonic fighter which could race through to a top speed of Mach 1.3. A set of three hard-hitting 30-mm cannon and, in later versions, two first-generation K-13 heat-seeking missiles completed the weapons suite as the Soviet bloc’s frontline missile-armed interceptor.1 (PAF modified the aircraft to carry AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles.) The same set of cannon armed with armour-piercing bullets, along with two rocket pods, served a useful secondary close air support role. Pilots discovered that they could manoeuvre the aircraft with abandon as long as their speed was not below 500 kph and, they could effortlessly chase their prey if the speed was not above 1,000 kph. Outside these limits lay severe testing grounds requiring special nerves and lots of muscle.

Ready for War

PAF pilots did not take long to master the quirky complexities of the F-6 at the limits of its flight envelope. They often relished the no-holds-barred dogfights with Mirages and Starfighters which could easily be out-turned, if not out-run, in dissimilar air combat. F-6 pilots boasted of some of the best gunnery and rocketry scores in the PAF. Operationally, the pilots seemed pleased to get so much out of so less, as it were. Maintenance of the aircraft was, however marred by a very low time-between-failure of components, as well as a low time-between-overhaul of the aircraft and engine. This was something that the engineers and technicians were able to overcome only when the PAF set up its own F-6 Rebuild Factory at Kamra in 1980 and, rapid overhauls became possible. At the outbreak of the war, PAF had 90 F-6 on its inventory, but due to these maintenance issues, a mere 48 were available for operations.

The F-6s were distributed amongst Nos 11, 23 and 25 Squadrons, each with 16 aircraft. No 11 Squadron, based at Sargodha, was commanded by Wg Cdr Sikandar M Khan. No 23 Squadron, the first Unit to be equipped with the F-6 in early 1966, was commanded by Wg Cdr S M H Hashmi; it had moved from its parent base Sargodha to the forward base at Risalewala, which formed the first tier of air defence against intruders from the east. No 25 Squadron, commanded by Wg Cdr Sa’ad A Hatmi, was split into two detachments of eight aircraft each, based at Sargodha and Mianwali. At the latter base, the detachment had the somewhat unconvincing task of guarding the ‘back-up’ strike assets including 10 B-57 and 5-odd Mirage IIIE for the all-important phase of Army’s main offensive.

Defending the Skies

Air defence cover in West Pakistan was patchy at best, but at low level it had wide gaps and only 7% of the border had radar coverage. Raid reporting by the few rear-located low level radars was not expected to provide enough reaction time for a ground scramble. Similarly, reporting by mobile observers – which is based on visual or aural information – was likely to cause delays. An expedient solution was to mount combat air patrols over possible enemy ingress routes, round the clock, effort permitting. Wasteful though it was, it was decided to man several points in the air and all fighters were ordered up for this task. F-6 came to be the workhorse for day air defense in the northern region.

The morning of 4 December promised action as the IAF was expected to retaliate in response to PAF’s strikes against some of the Indian airfields the previous evening. The PAF was ready, with fighters continuously patrolling the skies since first light. No 23 Squadron pilots at Risalewala had been tidily scheduled for the day’s proceedings. Around 0930 hrs, as F-6s for the day’s sixth mission were taxiing out of their pens, an air raid warning was sounded. A mission abort was ordered and loudspeakers relayed instructions for everyone to take cover. Flt Lt Javed Latif who was on cockpit standby, started to unstrap from his F-6 for a quick egress. Momentarily glancing out of the pen opening to see what was going on, he was aghast to see a Su-7 diving down straight at his aircraft. “The scary sight of an intake pointing at me is still etched fresh in my memory,” recalls Latif. As he jumped out of his F-6 to take cover, a salvo of rockets landed smack on the pen.3 Still scampering towards a trench, Latif was rattled by cannon fire from the second Su-7 as the bullets landed a few yards away. Then the raid was over as suddenly as it had started, and the AAA died down too, as if heralding an all-clear. Dusting himself and recovering his composure, Latif rushed to his pen to help put out the fire caught by the hessian camouflage covering. Luckily, his F-6 was unharmed except for a few nicks from slivers of falling plaster. “I was seething with anger at having been violated thus, and hurried to strap up again to settle the score,” remembers Latif. Shortly thereafter, a scramble was ordered for the next pair but confusion reigned as the taxi way had been blocked by the F-6s of the previous aborted mission. This led to yet another abort at a critical time but the situation was salvaged when Latif, who was standing by for a later mission, took charge and hit the starter button on his own. Just as he was taxiing out, his crew chief came rushing towards the aircraft, signalling for a switch off as another air raid warning had been notified. “My mind was racing and I had already decided in a split of a second – I was going to take my chances flying and I was not going to repeat the fiasco of the last pair,” Latif recollects. Over-ruling the Air Traffic Control’s somewhat confused recall message, Latif checked if his No 2 was also taxiing out. Hearing no response, he decided to take-off alone. Changing over to the radar frequency, he heard an eager voice wanting to join up as his wingman. It was Flt Lt Riffat Munir on patrol from the fifth mission, whose leader had aborted due to a technical problem. The new partners were only too glad to find themselves as a viable combat entity again. It wasn’t long before the ground radar handed the pair over to ‘Killer Control,’ a cleverly-perched look-out tasked to visually guide the interceptors about the raiders’ position with the help of geographic landmarks. Flt Lt Ahmed Khattak’s confident voice called out that two Su-7s were pulling up for an attack from the north-westerly direction and pointed out their position over the main water tank. After jettisoning their drop tanks and charging their guns, Latif and Riffat confirmed visual contact with both Su-7s. As the attackers approached the airfield, Latif easily positioned behind one of them while Riffat cleared tails. Firing all three of his cannon, Latif waited for some fireworks. Noticing that the aircraft was still flying unharmed, he fired another long burst till all his ammunition was exhausted. Just as he was expecting his quarry to blow up, he felt a huge thud. Thinking that he had been hit by the other Su-7, he broke right and then reversed left but found no one in the rear quarters. Checking for damage, he found that the left missile was not there and the launcher was shattered. The AAA shells bursting in puffs all around the airfield confirmed his suspicion that he had taken a ‘friendly’ hit, but luckily the aircraft was fully under control. Pressing on, he started to look for the escaping Su-7s and within moments, was able to pick one of them trailing a streak of whitish smoke. Convinced that it was the same one he had hit earlier and, assuming it to be crippled, Latif decided to go for the other Su-7. He spotted it straight ahead, flying over the tree tops at a distance of two miles. Engaging afterburners, he closed in for a Sidewinder shot but could not get a lock-on tone. To his dismay, he realised that the missile tone was routed through the circuitry of the left missile which had been shot off. Getting below the Su-7, he fired without a tone nonetheless, half expecting it to connect, if at all it fired. Moments later, he heard Riffat’s excited voice on the radio, “Good shooting, leader, you got him!” Not sure if he had really hit him as he had not seen any explosion, Latif was soon relieved to see the Su-7 roll over inverted and hit the ground.4 Flt Lt Harvinder Singh of Halwara-based No 222 Squadron went down with his aircraft near Rurala Railway Station. Riffat’s chase of the second Su-7 (flown by the mission leader, Sqn Ldr B S Raje) had to be cut short as he was getting low on fuel and his leader was out of ammunition. No 23 Squadron had drawn first blood after an eventful morning that saw Latif doggedly in business after surviving rocket and AAA hits. For his heroics on the ground and in the air, Latif was awarded a Tamgha-i-Jur’at (Medal of Valour).

25 Sqn at Mianwali

Shortly before sunset on the same day, Sakesar radar reported a raid heading towards Mianwali. Sqn Ldr Ehsan and Flg Off Qazi Javed of No 25 Squadron, who were on ‘cockpit standby’ in the hessian-covered pens, started their F-6s and within minutes, were taxiing out for take-off. Just then, Javed reported seeing two Hunters pull up for an attack. Sensing that they had been caught on the ground at the wrong time, Ehsan decided on a hasty take-off and pushed up the throttles to execute a sharp turn on to the runway. Unfortunately, use of excessive power caused him to veer off into the ‘kutcha.’ Stuck in the mud, he became an unwitting spectator as the Hunters delivered their attacks. In the meantime, Javed decided to take-off without his leader. Just as he lined up, he saw the lead Hunter strafing way far to the left of the runway. With half his worries suddenly over, Javed started rolling but danger from the second Hunter remained, as it had all the time to aim carefully and take a hearty shot. Anxious, Javed craned his neck back only to see the Hunter’s cannon blazing at him. “I thought his dive was too shallow and, at the close distance he was, the bullets would overshoot,” Javed recalls his rather masterly prediction. Mercifully, the bullets did land 200 feet ahead and towards the left, so Javed continued his take-off. Once airborne, keeping the Hunter in sight was a problem in the fast-fading light. Speeding at 900 kph, Javed remembered that he had not jettisoned his drop tanks. When he did get rid of them at such a high speed, he induced a porpoise but was somehow able to ride it out. Charging in at 1,100 kph, he had closed in to about a mile and a half, which was just the right range for a Sidewinder shot. He fired his first missile and when he did not see it connect, fired the second one. That too went into the ground. “All this while the Hunter pilot seemed totally oblivious of what was going on and his leader was nowhere in sight, so I gleefully decided to press on for a gun attack,” says Javed. “Since things had been happening too fast, I had forgotten to charge my guns after take-off. Having done that, I first fired with my centre gun till all its ammunition was spent.5 With the Hunter still flying unharmed, I decided to continue firing with the side guns. After a few frustrating bursts, I closed in to about 1,000 ft and fired a real lengthy one. Luckily, the last few bullets of the volley struck the right wing as I noticed a flash. The aircraft pitched up and rolled over to the right. I only learnt of the pilot’s ejection later, as I had to break away to avoid overshooting the out-of-control Hunter.” The aircraft fell about 14 nautical miles north-east of Mianwali. Flg Off Vidyadhar Chati of the Pathankot-based No 27 Squadron, when interrogated about the circumstances of his shooting down, said he suspected he had been brought down by ground fire! Duck shoot it was, over the idyllic Khabbaki Lake, but Chati should have known better where the bullets really came from. Ironically, the pilots of No 27 Squadron who had been declared the ‘Top Guns’ of IAF’s Western Air Command during a gunnery meet prior to the war, had failed to shoot up the conspicuously exposed F-6s on the runway. For the rookie Javed, who was freshly out of operational training on the F-6, remaining cool under fire was a most worthy achievement and he deservedly won a Sitara-i-Jur’at (Star of Valour) for his daring deed. F-6s over Sakesar

The high-powered FPS-20 radar at Sakesar, had received considerable attention f the war. Shortly after mid-day on 5 December, aron was again able to sneak in and attack the rand cannon. Patrolling nearby, over the picturesque Salt Range, were two F-6s of No 25 Squadron flown by Wg Cdr Sa’ad Hatmi and Flt Lt Shahid Raza. They were immediately vectored by the radar towards the exiting Hunters but it was a while before Hatmi spotted the pair. As the Hunters sped away over the hilly terrain, Hatmi wisely decided not to waste his missiles in the unfavourable background clutter. Using his guns instead, he made short work of one of the Hunters which fell 15 miles east of Sakesar. The pilot, Flg Off Kishan Lal Malkani, was killed. Next, Flt Lt Shahid Raza, who had all along kept the second Hunter in sight, closed in and opened fire with his guns which found their mark. The pilot, Flt. Lt Gurdev Singh Rai, who was the leader of the mission had twice visited Sakesar on the previous day, ran out of luck this time. He met his end when his Hunter crashed near the small town of Katha Saghral at the foothills of Salt Range.

On the afternoon of 8 December, two patrolling F-6s of No 23 Squadron flown by Wg Cdr S M H Hashmi and Flt Lt Afzal Jamal Siddiqui were vectored on to two Su-7s, just as they were exiting after attacking Risalewala airfield. Hashmi caught up with one of the pair, about ten miles east of the airfield, and let off a Sidewinder. The missile homed on unmistakably and the Su-7 exploded above the tree-tops; the pilot was not seen to eject. The remains of Flt Lt Ramesh Gulabrao Kadam6 were later discovered around the wreckage near the small town of Khalsapur. Hashmi immediately started looking for the other Su-7 and, to be sure of his No 2’s safety, called out for his position. Afzal replied but the transmission was garbled, which Hashmi interpreted as his No 2 being visual with him and, assumed that he was somewhere in the rear quarters. Just then Hashmi picked contact with the second aircraft and did not think twice before launching a missile. If there was any difference between the similar-looking planforms of the Su-7 and F-6, this was surely one time to have had a closer look. His No 2 was nowhere in sight and his frantic unanswered calls to Afzal seemed to confirm Hashmi’s worst fear. Had he mixed up his quarry in the murky winter haze? Afzal, who was chasing the second Su-7 at high speed and had ended up ahead of his leader, was not able to clearly convey his position on a broken radio. Hashmi, an otherwise unflappable squadron commander, should have known better, for he had been too eager for the second kill which unfortunately ended up as a horrific fatality for his wingman.

On one occasion the F-6 was completely outwitted by a Su-7. Flt Lt S S Malhotra of No 32 Squadron, who was on a photo recce mission over Risalewala on 13 December, spotted a patrolling F-6 and took a pot shot before exiting. It was only later that Malhotra learnt of Flt Lt Ejazuddin’s ejection over his home Base.

F-6s flew a total of 674 day air defence sorties (including 42 sorties over the battle area) which was 40% of PAF’s day air defence effort. Five enemy aircraft were downed during the air defence missions, or a kill rate of 0.74% in the role of an air defence fighter. All interceptions took place after the raiders had released their weapons on their targets, which was a reflection of the inadequacy of the air defence system that had been unable to provide sufficient early warning. The saving grace was the ability of the powerful F-6 to accelerate fast and nab the escaping raiders.

Over the Battlefield

PAF’s concept of air support to the land forces was biased towards direct support (close air support, armed recce and battlefield interdiction), as it was seen to yield immediate results in the ongoing battle. Indirect support in the form of deep interdiction beyond the battlefield was considered an exercise wrought with uncertainties in a short war, as the severance of the supply chain was likely to take some time before it showed its effects on a well-stocked front. The F-6 fitted well into the scheme of direct support as its powerful 3×30-mm cannon were ideal for strafing of convoys and rolling stock during armed recce, while two pods holding 8×57-mm rockets8 each, offered the option of firing a salvo in the midst of an armour concentration.

F-6s found their calling in Shakargarh sector, where the Indians had launched a two-pronged offensive with two infantry divisions along with two armoured brigades, while a third division was deployed in a defensive role. Against this force was Pakistan Army’s beleaguered 8 Infantry Division trying to fight off the massive onslaught, while 8 Armoured Brigade, staunchly but unsuccessfully, tried to launch a belated counter-attack. This sector saw PAF intervening in great force, with the bulk of air support missions flown for 8 Division. F-6s flew all but 9 of their 141 close air support and armed recce sorties9 in this sector but, regrettably, the mission success was very low; almost half the sorties were wasted as no enemy activity was observed in the area of interest. Hazy winter conditions as well as abundance of natural camouflage and dense habitation contributed majorly to the problem. While it must have been very frustrating for the pilots not to find the ‘armor concentrations’ that the tasking orders promised, they more than made up whenever they stumbled upon them.

An exciting situation developed in one of the close air support missions on the morning of 7 December, when four F-6s of No 11 Squadron found themselves vying for airspace with four Su-7s, which also happened to be on a similar mission near akargarh salient. The moment the Su-7s sighted the F-6s pulling , they lit afterburners and started to exit eastwards. At that time the No 2 called that he had been hit by AAA so he was asked by the mission leader, Flt Lt Atiq Sufi, to pair up with No 4 and recover back. Atiq then smartly ordered a split, so that two F-6s were chasing a pair of Su-7s each. “I remember accelerating to 1,100 kph despite the rocket pods which were retained, as I could not afford to take my eyes off the prey to look inside for the selective jettison switches,” says Atiq. He barely managed to arrest his rate of closure and opened fire on his target with the centre gun. “I had expended the ammunition in the centre gun so I switched to the two side guns and continued firing. A well-aimed volley struck right behind the cockpit and the Su-7 rolled over its back,” remembers Atiq. It was later learnt that Sqn Ldr Jiwa Singh, the senior flight commander of Adampur-based No 26 Squadron had gone down with the aircraft, south-west of Samba just over the border. The F-6 deputy leader, Flt Lt Mus’haf Mir also fired at one of the fast-receding Su-7s but it was lucky to have accelerated away, apparently unscathed.

A brief scrap took place between ‘relatives’ of the MiG family on 14 December when three F-6s of No 11 Squadron, which were on an armed recce mission in Shakargarh area, sighted four patrolling MiG-21s. Flt Lt Aamer Sharief manouvred behind one of the trailing aircraft and fired a Sidewinder. The outcome of has remained moot as the engagement took place in enemy-controlled territory and, no further details of the wreckage or pilot status have emerged ever since. PAF lost two F-6s to ground fire during the tactical air support campaign. Flt Lt Wajid Ali Khan of No 11 Squadron was shot down by AAA near Marala Headworks on 7 December; he ejected but ended up as a POW after being picked up by Indian troops which were in the vicinity. The other casualty was Flt Lt Shahid Raza of No 25 Squadron who was shot down by AAA near Shakargarh on 17 December, the last day of the war; he was heard to be ejecting in enemy fate remained unclear. He was awarded a Tamgha-i-Jur’at for devotion to duty, as well as professionalism shown in his earlier Hunter kill.

141 sorties of close air support by the F-6 were a mere 20% of PAF’s daytime tactical air support effort, with the bulk flown by F-86E & F. Considering the eminent suitability of the F-6 for the task, a larger share could have been more advantageous. The F-6 detachment at Mianwali could not help, as it was too far removed from the battle scene; it belatedly flew into Sargodha for air support duties a day before the war ended. Nonetheless, a total of 33 tanks, 42 vehicles and 4 guns were claimed by F-6 pilots in the 80 sorties that were considered successful. It can be seen that this was a useful contribution by the F-6 squadrons to 8 Divisions’s efforts in stemming the offensive in Shakargarh salient.

Report Card

During the 14-day war, the F-6s flew a total of 823 sorties which was 28% of PAF’s overall war effort of 2,919 sorties. For a relatively new weapon system, the F-6 could have achieved an aircraft Utilisation Rate better than the 1.6 sorties per aircraft per day during the war. While it fell short of the planned 2.2 sorties daily, it reflected a cautious conduct of the war, whereby the PAF was held back army’s main offensive which, in the event, never came through.

Besides the individual gallantry awards won by F-6 pilots, Nos 23 and No 25 Squadron were awarded Squadron Colours for distinguished performance during the war. The battle honours are as much a tribute to the F-6 as its spirited pilots, who forged this spartan aircraft into one of PAF’s most robust and dependable war machines.

Bio of A/C Kaiser Tufail:

He has had the opportunity of flying several classic fighters including F-6 (MiG-19), F-7P (MiG-21 variant), F-7PG (MiG-21 double-delta variant), Mirage-5, Mirage F-1E and the venerable F-16 Fighting Falcon. He commanded a fighter squadron, a fighter wing and PAF’s largest fighter Base at Masroor. When out of the cockpit, he found time to pursue literary activities. ‘Great Air Battles of Pakistan Air Force‘, a book written by him, is a manifestation of his interest in aviation history. He also writes for various military journals and newspapers. He retired as an Air Commodore in 2005, after thirty memorable years of service.

Addendum:

by Imran H. Khan

F-6 provided PAF engineers with the first airborne platform that they could experiment with freely. They did so in both the mechanical and electronic areas. Adding the Gondola to increase the flight duration was one of the most visible modifications. Addition of sidewinder was another major weapons upgrade that was an unlikely marriage of US and Chinese technologies.

Chuck Yeager wrote the following about this in his book.

“One of my first jobs there was to help them put U.S. Sidewinders on their Chinese MiGs, which were 1.6 Mach twin-engine airplanes that carried three thirty-millimeter canons. Our government furnished them with the rails for Sidewinders. They bought the missiles and all the checkout equipment that went with them, and it was one helluva interesting experience watching their electricians wiring up American missiles on a Chinese MiG.”

In my brief tenure in the PAF I had the opportunity to install a piece of ECCM equipment on the F-6. What struck me was the lack of process in conducting such a modification on this type of plane, when compared with others.  The plane that I modified was  a flying breadboard with all sorts of modifications. PAF engineers performed some 140 modifications.  Sometimes in our rightful glorification of the pilots who put their lives on the line, we forget the contributions of the technicians and NCOs in keeping these planes flying. I have in all my interactions been impressed by the dedication of the maintenance staff. These modifications led to F-6s playing an active role much later than in other air forces that flew it.  PAF trained over 1,000 fighter pilots and flew over 400,000 sorties on this aircraft. It retired after thirty years of active service  in 2002.  Not bad for a plane that flew originally in 1954.

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With so much to talk about these days, a lot of good opinions get left out there unheard. So lets get them out…right here on Imran’s blog.

I can start with a few leaders…

The word is out that Israel is out to improve its international public image – they think they may be at a tipping point on a permanently negative world view. I wonder what took the world so long (of course Westerners don’t think Eastern or Muslim opinions count). After 32 years of settling occupied territory and countless wars with its neighbors and innumerable Palestinians hounded into generational refugee status and similar numbers killed, Israel now thinks its public image is at stake? It certainly shows the limits of propaganda.

So how do they plan on going about it? For one, deny Gaza and Goldman. Secondly, perform a James Bond style assassination of Hamas official, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai. My comment on the NY Times opinionator, which said American spy agencies have also been given the right to kill American’s overseas if they are suspected of wrong-doing:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/mission-impossible-dubai/

“People seem too steeped in the James Bond mythology that there is a law unto spy agencies that transcends international law, that there is a quid quo pro and real politic that justifies such acts, that national security concerns supplant human rights and due process.

But killing by spy agency decree violates ones basic premise of right and wrong – what’s good for the goose can also be good for the gander. How can we talk to China about human rights violations when we empower our own intelligence agencies to employ such tactics ourselves?”

While we’re on the topic, how about this?

“A genetic study to investigate a connection between the lost tribes of Israel and the Pashtuns of Afghanistan and northern Pakistan will be funded by Israel, according to a report in The Observer.

Israeli anthropologists have claimed that the Pashtuns may be one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel in light of longstanding historical and anecdotal evidence.”

Comments, Mr. Khan?

“That should be easy to verify using the latest genetic mappings… Imran”

Moving on … how about Joe Stack, the software engineer who flew a plane into the Austin IRS office. The Government says it wasn’t terrorism, that it was a crime. The lead candidate for the 2012 Republican nomination, Gov. Pawlenty (I always have difficulty with this name – why not just say Plenty?), says all well meaning Americans should crash (golf clubs) into Federal windows. That’s patriotism, not criminal. What about the Fort Hood shooter? Well, he was a Muslim, so it must be terrorism.

I think Mr. Obama’s had a great first year, but the Conservatives are winning the publicity war. They’ve framed the debate so Mr. Bush looks golden in comparison. Americans want leaders that say they can have unlimited Chinese money without paying for it. Will it work? There’s a great new book that I recommend: The End of Influence: What happens when Other Countries have the Money (Stephen Cohen – he’s written about Pakistan as well).

Speaking about golf clubs, I think Tiger Woods gave a very sincere and moving apology. Some may disagree, but I forgive him. I hope his wife is reading this note.

While we’re on sports, wither Pakistan cricket? India is hard at work rationalizing the elimination of Pakistani players from the IPL but it smacks clearly of over extended rationalizing. They are saying it was purely a business decision, why would any corporation not act in its best interest? However, as we all know so well from experience, the idea of a super-duper blue blooded modern-day enterprise seeking maximum profitability above everything else is but a mirage. The IPL are governed by political and national considerations, just as much as any Western company which profiles its job and promotion candidates mostly to the detriment of qualified minority applicants.

To say it in even more plain terms: the IPL owners exercised their right to say no to these players because they were Pakistani. They made them apply and used their power to humiliate them. This even goes beyond profiling. It is raw, unchecked emotion and a crass calculation that puts politics above game and the hope that it wins them more nationalistic-minded Indian fans.

If the PCB continues to play its game the way it has, to be sure Bangladesh will soon
replace Pakistan among the top 7 playing countries of the world. (A version of this printed in Pakistan’s Daily Times).

India’s recent Freudian slip suggests they are making up for the IPL gaffe:

“In a major goof-up, the Indian government’s Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) issued a full-page ad on the occasion of the National Girl Child Day featuring the photograph of former Pakistan Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Ahmed (2006-2009), along with its national heroes such as cricketers Kapil Dev, Virender Sehwag and classical musician Amjad Ali Khan.”

Speaking of movies, anyone seen Avatar? Here’s an opinion to cloud all first opinions about it (David Brooks of the NY Times):

“This is the oft-repeated story about a manly young adventurer who goes into the wilderness in search of thrills and profit. But, once there, he meets the native people and finds that they are noble and spiritual and pure. And so he emerges as their Messiah, leading them on a righteous crusade against his own rotten civilization. (Read more by Googling David Brooks and Avatar – he calls it a “racial fantasy par excellence).”

I really liked Avatar, although I have heard at least one Pakistani say it was no different from Harry Potter! Personally, I would have preferred the new Sherlock Holmes movie if it had stuck to the original. Read my review on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/notes/izaz-haque/the-non-sherlock-holmes-movie/326256442000

This could go on and on, so let me try to end it here with this…sitting in a parking lot near the Natick mall this afternoon, the car next to me suddenly started alarming. No one was near it at the time. I took a closer look at it. It was a TOYOTA Rav4. It shut itself down after a minute of very loud protestations. There’s still hope for Toyota.

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President Yahya Khan held fair and free elections in December, 1970 in which Awami League of Shaikh Mujibur Rahman won a majority largely due to his Six-Point manifesto. National Assembly was to hold its first session in Dacca on 2^nd March, 1971. It was, however, sabotaged by vested interests of West Pakistani establishment and some leading politicians, who were not willing to accept a Bengali-led government. Postponement of National Assembly strengthened the secessionist movement in East Pakistan, duly supported by India. Violent civil disobedience ensued through out East Pakistan immediately, resulting in casualties including death of students in a Dacca hostel due to shelling.  Army was forced to retreat to cantonments for avoiding bloodshed. The situation was bad demanding careful and intelligent handling. After about a week, when the disobedience had simmered down, Yahya and advisors reached Dacca and held final talks with Mujib on around 20^th March for a couple of days. It was then agreed that Yahya will retain the Presidency and, honouring the outcome of election, he will transfer power to Mujib. Yahya, vacillating as ever, swayed by the ill-advice of leading politicians of West Pakistan and his own military junta, to ‘sort out these bloody Bengalis’,  resorted to use force  in starting on 25^th March, 1971, instead of  implementing  political solution as reached with Awami League – a complete betrayal of trust.

After the war, the Government of Pakistan established a Commission headed by Chief Justice of  Supreme Court of Pakistan Mr Hamood-ur-Rahman with just and truly needed Terms of Reference to look into political, economic, social, administrative, bureaucratic, military, etc, causes and factors which led to the debacle. Later, the government of the day and civil establishment, apprehending incrimination, restricted the Terms of Reference and confined these to only the military factors, thus making armed forces the scapegoat for all the misdeeds of past and present rulers, political leaders and the establishment.  Hamood-ur-Rahman Commission (HRC) gave their verdict on East Pakistan debacle in 1974, but the report was never shown to us who underwent interrogation. Some years ago, “Declassified portions of HRC report  – text 28” published by DAWN on February 4, 2001 dealing with the role of PN and PAF, which came to my notice recently. A few statements therein needed clarification.  In this saga, inter alia, I have given the rationale of some of our actions which fell short of HRC approval.

Grim Backdrop

On 30^th March, 1971 when I was posted to GHQ as Director Joint Warfare and concurrently, as the first PAF Directing Staff of National Defence College, I was asked at midday to report immediately to the C-in-C PAF, Air Marshal A Rahim Khan, at Peshawar. An aircraft was provided which promptly flew me there. The C-in-C gave me a letter addressed to Air Commodore M Z Masud (though known as Mitty Masud but I will call him MZ), Air Officer Commanding, East Pakistan and Base Commander Dacca, asking him to hand over both commands to me immediately as he (MZ) was not in favour of military action and was seen to be not fully cooperating with the Army. This was evidently told to Rahim Khan by the Generals returning from Dacca.

I returned to Rawalpindi and left by the evening, reaching Dacca next morning by PIA routed via Colombo. Immediately, I went to MZ’s office and performed the most painful and unpleasant task of handing over the C-in-C’s letter. ‘Painful and unpleasant’ because MZ was and probably, has been, the most brilliant planner and professional commander ever produced by PAF, who very ably led the air battle from Sargodha in 1965 War. I had the highest regards and respect for him.

Needless to say that he was shocked and surprised at this unexpected order. MZ had given a presentation to Yahya and others on 16^th March, a copy of which he had sent to Rahim Khan for approval, prior to the presentation. The conclusion was that military action was not the proper solution to the crisis in East Pakistan. Rahim Khan fully approved the draft and the presentation was made. Yahya made some ambiguous remarks at the end. General Rao Farman, on coming out of hall, said to MZ, “You have said what we could not say.”

According to MZ, when the civil disobedience started early in the month, according to orders, all Bengalis were removed from vital installations and West Pakistanis, mostly aircraft technicians were put on guard duties. A day or two after military action, General Tikka Khan rang up MZ shortly before sunset and asked for air support for a besieged army unit. MZ replied that all his technicians were on guard duties and it would take him a while to collect them and have the aircraft prepared.  He said that it would be dark by then and air support not possible that night, but from next dawn onwards, the army could have all the air support needed. To this Tikka retorted “Masud, I know that PAF can launch fighters within a couple of minutes. You are dragging your feet and not co-operating since you have been against the military action to start with.” MZ attempted to explain how scrambles within a few minutes are done when pilots and ground crew are ready on standby duties. This technicality was, however, beyond the comprehension of General Tikka.

I must hasten to add that Tikka Khan was a kind-hearted gentleman, most concerned about the welfare of troops. Far from being a ‘butcher of Bangladesh’, he applied minimum of force in operations and insisted on causing a minimum of collateral casualties – quite contrary to policy of his successor.  Only once I saw him losing his cool when, during an evening meeting, he was insisting upon securing the bridge and the radio station in downtown Sylhet. This was opposed by all the four or five Generals present, who wanted limited troops there to secure the airfield where the reinforcement could be flown in. This peeved Tikka Khan.

PAF’s Plight

Normally for intercepting enemy air raids before they reach the target, early warning is needed to scramble (launch) interceptors which are on standby. For high altitude raids, normal radars with long range coverage provide this vital information. But in our environment, attackers fly mostly at low altitude.  Till then, the PAF had not been able to acquire any mobile low level radar system. The old WW2 method of early warning was, therefore adopted.  In UK, retired military personnel living along the eastern coast were enrolled to do the job. They were given basic aircraft recognition and familiarization training, provided with phone and/or RT, binoculars etc. Their sole job was to inform the Air Defence Centre about any aircraft intruding into own airspace flying at low level. Extra information as to approximate number of raiders, type or name of fighter or bomber, direction of their flight, etc was a bonus. In Pakistan we did not have such civilian personnel available along the border. Hence Mobile Observers Units (MOUs), comprising of a jeep manned by three active servicemen, trained similarly as UK observers, for reporting intruder/s at low level to Control Sector, were established. A string of these Units was deployed just inside our border, about five miles apart from each other. In West Pakistan, as a longer run-in had to be made by intruders for most of our targets, a second string of MOUs was deployed about 25 miles behind the first string.  Report from the first string, followed by a report from the second enabled the Control Centre to compute and determine the intended target and the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) of attacker over target. This gave time to Bases to scramble interceptors and engage the enemy before they reached the target. In 1965, at dawn on 6^th September, it was, in fact, one of such MOUs which first observed and reported Indian tanks rolling towards Lahore for a surprise attack.

East Pakistan had 1,400 miles of border, but we had only a limited number of MOUs. The Units were deployed five miles apart and close to the border towards north and east of Dacca, these being the likely approaches of low level raiders. When the civil disobedience started early March and insurgency commenced in earnest,  Mukti Bahini started killing our vulnerable soldiers and other West Pakistanis, in cities and around cantonments, wherever they could lay their hands on them. MOUs being dispersed in hostile surroundings were, thus, sitting ducks for the insurgents. MZ ordered their withdrawal back to Dacca. Only a few could return, while others were massacred as happened in Mymensingh Sector. There, Flight Lieutenant Safi Mustafa, an able pilot and good professional (and newly married), was the MOU Squadron Commander. He collected his troops (about 20 or so in number) but they were overwhelmed by large number of Mukti Bahini. They arrested the MOU personnel and put them in an underground cell of the Civil Jail at Mymensingh. When the military action started on 26^th March, all these helpless men were massacred in cold blood, becoming victim of hatred of Bengalis towards the West Pakistanis. I visited the Jail later and found etching and writing, etc on the walls. It was a very moving experience, even when recollected today. I called the Superintendent of the Jail to my office. He cried and said that Mukti Bahini outnumbered his staff and he was helpless in saving the MOU personnel. At the end he said something very odd: “Hindu blood still runs in our veins”.

Initially, for high level raids we had a Russian P-35 radar with a height finder but it was withdrawn to West Pakistan in October to improve radar coverage there. After all, the war strategy clearly articulated: ”Defence of East Pakistan lay in West Pakistan.” This left us with only fixed low level radar, well-sited near Dacca at  Mirpur, with excellent foliage camouflage. Indian Air Force could never locate it. This radar could see up to only 20 to 25 miles – thus providing just over three minutes warning of an approaching fighter bomber at 420 knots. As for the height of attacker, in the absence of a height-finder radar, we assumed that they would come at low level, which they luckily did, thus enabling our fighters to spot them.

The share of East Pakistan was only one F-86E (Canadair CL-13 Sabre Mk-6) Squadron of 12 aircraft with same number of pilots, though the Unit Establishment was for 16 aircraft. Bengalis had been taken off from flying duties. There was however one Bengali pilot  in the Squadron whose background was known to me at Peshawar, when he was undergoing fighter conversion and I was the Base Commander. I was shocked to learn from him that he got his education in Shillong, India. Since there was no Cadet College in East Pakistan, most Bengali youth went to Shillong or Darjeeling for good education. Taking a calculated risk I cleared him to fly combat missions which he did admirably. Accompanying other pilots he came to Pakistan where he rose to the rank of Air Vice Marshal, including a tenure as Air Attaché in UK.

Army on Shaky Grounds

On assuming command on 31 March, 1971, I provided all the air support asked by Pak Army, which was pivotal in achieving success in most operations. Pak Army was fully satisfied with the air support and no complaint was ever heard (except for the very first one on start of military  action  late in the evening on 26^th March, 1971).  An example  of how effective we were, is that of the highly successful army operations at Feni, north of Chittagong, which were possible with full air support.  During this period of  early April 1971, Army units kept on pouring in from West Pakistan by PIA, flying around Sri Lanka.  PIA Boeings were faster and had a quick turn around. These troops arriving Dacca had only their rifles with them, leaving behind weapons such as machine guns, mortars, etc. They had no training, whatsoever, in jungle or guerilla warfare. They were ill-dressed for the terrain of East Pakistan. Instead of gum boots  or ammunition shoes, they had only the cheap brown Bata canvas shoes, which might have been suitable for PT but not for jungle warfare. They had only light parkas to protect them from incessant rain. One had to see the gear of Indian soldiers, what with gumboots, proper leather shoes, rain-coats, etc. We felt sorry for the plight of our soldiers. On reaching Dacca, they were immediately rushed to far-flung posts strung along the border, in a strange, hostile environment. Another major contrast between Pakistani and Indian soldiers were the educational disparity. All Indian soldiers could read and write Hindustani, while some of the NCOs were fluent in English. On the other hand, some of our havildars were without the ability to read even Urdu.

The situation in East Pakistan remained adrift throughout summer, with minor skirmishes with Mukti Bahini, and a few cases of bombing/blasting railway line, bridges, etc.  PAF continued with air support and rescuing troops whenever they were in a fix. A PAF C-130 transport airplane stayed in Dacca for the first two months, rushing troops where ever needed in an emergency, operating most professionally from remote strips.

GOC, Eastern Command, General Niazi remained busy telling dirty jokes to any and every one coming his way. He once visited our standby hut at Dacca airfield from where interceptors are launched at short notice. Seeing the GOC, aircraft technicians assembled around him.  Without appreciating the propriety of the occasion or discipline of PAF, he embarrassed me by relating a very filthy joke to airmen. His conduct and deportment, leaving aside his professional acumen, was not very complimentary to the promotion system  of the Army.

Pak Army continued the defence of fixed posts all along the border till the very end. The GHQ in Rawalpindi was giving false hopes to our Eastern elements and, we constantly heard of silly reports of ‘reinforcements by Yellows from North and Whites from South (aircraft carrier)’. War Orders for forces in East Pakistan had clearly stipulated gradual retreat to Dacca Bowl on opening of hostilities. This was totally ignored, which might have helped a better outcome, as will be shown later. This policy of holding onto the posts along the border  resulted in considerable casualties to our troops.

Nobody Listening

In 1971, during my couple of visits to West Pakistan, it was shocking to see a life of fun and frolic at parties, totally oblivious of the war-like situation of their brotherly Wing. The adage that ‘a General has to feel the heat of battle for proper decisions’ was meaningless, given the distance between the two wings which was warping a correct appreciation of the situation and thereby, decisions. This distance of 1,000 miles across India was further multiplied three times due to via-Colombo routing after over flights had been denied by India, following a self-staged hijacking of an Indian Airlines aircraft.

By third week of April, Mukti Bahini insurgency was almost routed, providing an opportunity to resolve the issue politically – the only method to keep Pakistan intact, to some extent. In the third week a high level delegation visited Peking. On return they stopped at Dacca. Our Foreign Secretary Mr Sultan Muhammad Khan was a member of this team. I knew him from China where he was our Ambassador in 1966-68 and I was the Air Attaché. I met and told him that a breather is available for serious resolution of the issue. He replied “Bhai wahan (meaning Yahya and his coterie) to koi  sunta he nahi aisi (logical) baat”.

The Government  did appoint a helpless Governor Malik, without any authority; it was just a smoke screen for a political solution, a very difficult issue requiring hard decisions. The situation kept on drifting with no decisive act by Pakistan in sight. On the other hand, Indians were seriously preparing for war, along with full diplomatic propaganda about a large number of Bengali refugees in India, atrocities by Pak Army in East Pakistan etc. They were concurrently giving training, arming Mukti Bahini and launching military actions against us. With dry weather suitable for military offensive approaching in Bengal, Mrs Gandhi Prime Minister of India was itching and looking for an excuse to attack.

In November, a mission comprising of the Services Chiefs and led by Chairman  PPP Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto visited Peking. The Foreign Secretary S M Khan, being an old China hand, was also a member of the team. On its return, the team briefed President Yahya Khan but excluded Sultan Muhammad Khan. In 1974, on my return to Pakistan from a POW Camp at Jubbulpur in India, I met S M Khan and asked him about the team’s visit to China just before the war. He related that Prime Minister Mr Chou En Lai met the team at dinner.  According to Mr Khan, Mr Chou En Lai continued the whole night with his analysis of world opinion regarding the developing situation in the Sub-Continent, especially with respect to Indian aims. This meeting continued till the morning, when Mr Chou said he will discuss the matter with Chairman Mao Tse Tung and meet the team again at dinner. In the evening Mr Chou En Lai further elaborated all the related factors and, by morning he summed it up in a brief gist. Mr Chou, in his arguments and analysis, made some what of a pyramid of these from ground upwards, ending up at the apex with a concise plan of action. For our team it was: DO NOT PRECIPITATE WAR AS THE WORLD OPINION IS TURNING AGAINST INDIA. IF NECESSARY TRADE TERRITORY FOR TIME.

Being a civilized person, he formally added at the end, total friendship and support for people of Pakistan. The leader of Pakistani team offered no words of thanks or gratitude. Being an ex-China hand and seasoned diplomat, S M Khan took upon himself to thank the PM for his very apt and useful advice. Sooner they came out of meeting, Bhutto rebuked him for thanking the Prime Minister for advice, and said  “Sultan, what do these Chinese know of Indo Pakistan affairs.” S M Khan said at once that he was not sure as to what message will be conveyed to Yahya Khan.  When I enquired from S M Khan as to what message was actually conveyed to President Yahya from this last China trip, he said that he was not taken to the Presidency, but General Peerzada was present in the briefing to the President and I could ask him. This I did,  who confirmed that Bhutto only conveyed  general remarks of Mr Chou En Lai about friendship and support for people of Pakistan; the specific advice for not precipitating war was intentionally not conveyed. Clearly, the PPP leader had his own agenda, which he could not achieve in 1965.

PAF Braves it Out

On 21^st November, 1971, a flight of our four F-86s was providing air support just west of Jessore, well within own territory,  but without any radar cover which was not available there. They were intercepted by IAF Gnat aircraft, and two of our fighters were shot down. The pilots ejected safely but on landing they were handed over to Indians by unfriendly East Pakistanis.  Flying over East Pakistan was as if you were over enemy territory. No directive or intimation about the imminent war was conveyed to us from Rawalpindi, though we were to bear the main brunt. Indians knew about it well before PAF’s pre-emptive dusk attack on IAF airfields adjacent to West Pakistan. An hour or so before sunset on 3^rd December (that is at least two hours before sunset in West Pakistan) Captain Hanif, the PIA chief in Dacca, whom I knew from Risalpur when he was under training,  came to see me in the Mess and said war is starting tonight. A PIA Boeing which was coming to Dacca, flying opposite Madras (now Chennai) and only an hour or so short of Dacca, was ordered by Karachi through Indian Flight Information Centre to return back to base.  Eastern Command and rest of people learnt about it from 9 PM TV news.

As for PAF’s pre-emptive air strike on 3^rd Dec, I learnt from Air Commodore Grewal, Director Air Intelligence IAF, who came to see me at Fort Williams, Calcutta, that PAF’s strike against seven IAF Bases caused only superficial damage. Had it concentrated against two or three bases only, IAF would have been in some trouble. Grewal also wondered as to how Air Commodore ‘Polly’ Shah, a transport pilot with whom he had undergone conversion on C-47 Dakota aircraft before partition in Mauripur, could have been Operations Chief in Air Headquarters. I gave some lame explanation.

IAF had ten Squadrons of Mig-21, Su-7 and Hunter aircraft deployed at bases around East Pakistan.  Anticipating air raids without any MOU in operation, we would not get attack warning of more than 3 or 4 minutes from our low level radar. From dawn of 4^th December 1971, No 14 Squadron started launching a pair F-86s every half hour, so as to maintain Combat Air Patrol (CAP), ready to respond to an oncoming raid instantly. As expected, the IAF raiders started early and flew in low. They were picked up by the CAPs and a number of them shot down. Some of attackers did manage to slip through to Dacca and Kurmitola despite our boosting the CAP effort to four aircraft at a time. CAPs are very demanding both for pilots and aircraft. After the pre-hostilites loss of one aircraft that went into a river due to vertigo of pilot, and two lost at Jessore in November, we were left with nine F-86s only. The pilot strength was about the same.  Due to this paucity of both man and machine, the CAP effort reduced as the day progressed. On reaching Dacca airfield, the attackers encountered our Light Anti-Aircraft Artillery equipped with Chinese guns having a range of 7,000 feet. The attackers failed to destroy even a single fighter aircraft on the ground in pens.  Our two helicopters, which were operating from playground of a school in domestic camp escaped enemy attention and both safely escaped to Burma on 16^th morning. (I cannot ever forget the heart rending pleas made by PAF helicopter pilot Squadron Leader Masud and by my younger brother, then Major Riaz-ul-Haq Khan, an Mi-8 Captain, for accompanying and escaping with them, but that was out of question.) Air Marshal Rahim Khan also rang me up to advise me not to escape. I angrily asked the C-in-C as to what made him think that I was planning to escape, as I had no intention to leave my sub-ordinates in this critical situation.

There were, two PIA Twin Otter aircraft, which were hidden under the trees, no pen being large enough to hide them. On 4^th December I was at Killer Control (a small platform perched above the tree line, equipped with R/T for a pilot to visually guide or warn own aircraft of the attacker behind him) when we saw an IAF Su-7 make a short firing pass on one of the Otters, barely 150 yards away from us. This was enough to destroy the soft-skinned passenger airplane.  The Su-7 hurriedly lit the after-burner and zoomed away. We had planned to fly our fighter pilots out to Burma in the Twin Otters, if and when fighter operations become impossible, so that they could continue the war in West Pakistan.  It was very lucky that the second Twin Otter survived.

On the third day around 11 AM,  when all our fighters were down, IAF Mig-21s armed with bombs cratered the runway every two to three thousand feet. It made the runway totally unfit for F-86s to operate.  These craters on the runway were about 20 feet deep and 50 feet wide, with volcano-like upward thrusting lips of runway slabs.  Craters were deep due to time-delay fuses on these sleek bombs. Quick repairing of runway need large amounts of sand, with loading and dumping vehicles, cement slab cutting machines and quick-setting cement. None of the equipment and material was available; nor was repair time available due to frequent strikes by fighter-bombers, now orbiting safely at 10,000 feet beyond the AAA range with no interceptor to chase them. They would dive steeply along the runway for releasing bombs, exposing themselves to AAA for a very short time. Some raids inflicted casualties on the repairing teams which were doing whatever little they could, with all the handicaps. At the end of the third day of bombing, I inspected the big craters. Fully aware that Dacca runway would not be available for fighter operations any more during the war, I decided to fly the fighter pilots to Burma in PIA’s surviving Twin Otter.  I saw eight or nine remaining pilots at dawn and could sense their sympathetic feelings on leaving me behind. The Twin Otter took off from a taxi track.

Our pilots and airmen connected with air operations did a magnificent job under  some very adverse limitations and conditions, both during air support phase and later during combat phase against IAF from 3^rd to 6^th December, 1971.  As for the pilots, I must mention our very brave Base Operations Officer, Wing Commander S M Ahmed who was not required to be on combat duty, but volunteered to participate. On second day that is on 5^th December, 1971 he intercepted a formation of intruders about 10 miles north of  Dacca. After targeting one attacker, he was bracketed by a pair of IAF fighters who shot him down. He was seen ejecting out and landing safely, as observed by a Pak Army Subedar.  He then saw Wing Commander Ahmed  swarmed by locals and some Mukti Bahini from nearby Tangail who took him way. We never got any further news about him; presumably he was tortured and later killed in cold blood. For us, as stated earlier, our own territory was akin to enemy country.

Indian Canberra bombers also kept on raiding frequently at night. Their bombing was hopeless, doing little damage to any important installation. A bomb fell not too far from my house, and close to the bungalow where Begum Khalida Zia was detained. A stray bomb, however, did land on our Officers’ Mess, the debris from which fell on many of the personnel in trenches. Squadron Leader Rabbani, the only Bengali officer loyal to Pakistan till the very end, died immediately. May Allah rest Rabbani in peace, Ameen. (He was one of my last students pilot at Risalpur in 1953. He later became a Navigator.) The following morning, I had gone to see an injured General officer at CMH. The place was cluttered with dead and injured, the air putrid all over. By chance I entered a room in which dead bodies were stacked and I was shocked to see our Senior Air Traffic Officer lying among the dead but breathing very feebly. His lungs were in a mess, being the result of previous night’s bombing on Officers’ Mess. On my pointing out, the medical staff worked on him and brought him back to life, literally.

It was  a revelation for me to learn from the HRC Report about the Naval suggestion for our F-86s to be diverted from air defense duties during the war to search for the Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in the vast Bay of Bengal. The idea was to sink it or at least cause some damage so as to  boost our morale!

Navies employ multi-engine aircraft (such as the twin-engine French Atlantique or four-engine Lockheed P-3C Orion), having long endurance and fitted with radar and other detection devices to reconnoiter and locate enemy warships and submarines. Old fighters like the F-86, with hardly any maritime sensor and, with a short endurance, were not capable of carrying out the mission as suggested.  I feel that the suggestion had overtones of a suicide mission, which I would have trashed, if it had been brought to my notice in Dacca. Hamood-ur-Rahman showed better understanding in dismissing such an operation as unfeasible, particularly when the mission would not have gone unintercepted by Vikrant’s Sea Hawk interceptors.

Aftermath

During the summer before the war, the Chinese Counsellor came to my office, emphasizing the need for a political solution rather than military.  But the visit by IG Police, East Pakistan along with Commissioner Dacca during the war was strange to say the least. Knowing fully all the shortcomings, conditions and handicaps, they surprisingly said, “So Air Commodore ‘your army’ is incapable of defending the country.” This was most unbecoming of these high officials and I nearly threw them out. Later both, after foregoing their Pakistani citizenship, approached the UN representative for shelter in Hotel Pearl Continental (declared as neutral area), but the request was rejected, forcing them to stay in the Cantonment. Ironically, after the war one of them became Secretary Interior, Government of Pakistan!

The war lingered on with assurances of aid from North and South. The policy of fixed defence along the border was henceforth to continue, no retreat to Dacca Bowl, as stipulated in War Plan, was to be attempted officially. Diplomatic efforts were also being made in and outside UN with some solution like retaining both East and West Pakistan intact within a Confederation. It was not to the liking of the PPP leader, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who wished for a quick unconditional defeat in Dacca at the earliest. That is why the War Plan of retreating to Dacca Bowl was not allowed, as it may have prolonged the war and delayed surrender, allowing more time for a possible peaceful resolution, retaining the integrity of Pakistan.  When detailed to lead the mission to UN, he took his own sweet time enroute, hoping for an early surrender in the mean time. In the Security Council he played the drama of scornfully tearing the notes pertaining to the only sensible Polish Resolution and walking out angrily.  He had put up a similar drama in UN Security Council in 1965 when he dashed out after calling the Indian Foreign Minister Swaran Singh a dog. S M Khan, who was the High Commissioner in Canada at the time and was a member of the delegation, had to follow him. On getting out of the chamber he turned to S M Khan and said ‘dekha sain kaisi acting keeti hey’. This time in 1971 it was an encore.  That walk-out ended all hopes of one Pakistan.

HRC considered that we should have destroyed the F-86s  immediately after dispatch of the pilots to Burma. The reason for not destroying the aircraft earlier was that it was thought to be an easy task to dynamite aircraft and could be done any time. This we undertook on 15^th December, after receiving surrender orders but were told not to cause explosions which might cause alarm and panic. Hence, hammers and crowbars, etc were used  quite effectively. Bangladesh Air Force might have recovered some of the aircraft through cannibalization of others, but they were never made them operationally ready.

During preparations for the war, fighter aircraft pens were constructed at Dacca with wire mesh on top, covered with foliage. Taxi tracks leading to these pens were also camouflaged. Due to these measures not a single fighter aircraft was destroyed  on the ground. The brunt of the repeated attacks was borne only by wooden dummy aircraft four each of which were placed at both ends of Dacca and Kurmitola runways, (although the latter runway was still under construction).

During the surrender ceremony in Ramna Maidan in Dacca City, Air Marshal Dewan, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, IAF Eastern Command met me. He first praised our performance under such an adverse environment. He then said that the IAF made a fool of themselves in continual attacks on dummies alone. He then enquired as to how come Pakistani military commanders in East Pakistan were not C-in-Cs and were being controlled by Rawalpindi? I replied that for all intent and purposes  we considered ourselves independent.

Before 16^th December, hardly any Bengali was visible anywhere, but from that morning onwards they started pouring in large numbers from nowhere onto the airfield, streets and were present in great  number at this ceremony. Mukti Bahini were thrashing and killing non- Bengalis even during the ceremony while nearby Indian troops made no attempt to stop the carnage. A small group of Mukti Bahini approached and addressed me, ignoring the Indian Air Commodore (my escort) standing besides me, and said “thank you Sir for liberating us from the Pakistani barbarians”. When I replied that I am one of those barbarians, they got perplexed and slipped away.

For a couple of  days after surrender, the Indian GOC of the formation investing Dacca allowed us to retain our arms, as the Mukti Bahini had started sniping at our personnel in our Camps.  Our men retaliated and killed a few snipers. This could have flared into a serious problem, so I went to the Indian GOC for restraining the Mukti Bahini from provocative shooting. The Indian GOC was occupying the office of General Niazi, sitting on his chair while Niazi was sitting on one side and, without any remorse, telling jokes and laughing. On my request, the Indian GOC called in Brig Shabeg Singh and asked whether the Mukti Bahini could be restrained. Shabeg hurriedly consulted Tiger Siddiqui, (Commander, Tangail Mukti Bahini) who was standing in the veranda outside,  and reported back  that  they would not be able to comply. The GOC then ordered Shabeg to accompany me to the Base, where the latter contacted the Officer Commanding of an Infantry Battalion to sort out the sniping.  On reaching the office, the Battalion Commander was called in and assigned the task. During this period Shabeg Singh told me that he was  in charge of Mukti Bahini training and organizing in Agartala Sector. He had made many trips into East Pakistan and  Dacca prior to war. His last trip to Dacca was on 3^rd December, masquerading as a rickshaw driver with his small beard flowing and balding head covered with a white maulvi cap. Shabeg Singh also offered me safe-keeping of any jewelry or fire arms that I may have had. I had none. As luck would have it, he was promoted and posted as GOC Jubbulpur where our camp was located. Later, after retirement, he became the Military Advisor to Sikh militant politician Jarnail Singh Bhindrawala. When Bhindrawala threw a challenge to the authority of Union Government, a strong-willed Mrs Gandhi ordered an attack on the sacred Golden Temple at Amritsar  in 1984. Shabeg Singh who was killed by Indian troops during the attack.

On 15^th December, while driving, I was stopped by a bearded, well-dressed  gentleman who turned out to be the Chief Flying Instructor of Dacca Flying Club. He was famous for his flying prowess throughout India. He enquired of me whether it  was true about the surrender. On my confirmation he tore at his beard and clothes and said what will happen to the Biharis now. His apprehensions turned out to be correct, as can be seen from the squalid conditions of camps where they have been living ever since, under very adverse conditions. Urdu-speaking Biharis never integrated with the Bengalis and retained their own language, culture and traditions. They always considered themselves as true Pakistanis which they proved by their loyalties till the end, incurring the wrath of locals. Biharis were relatively better educated than Bengalis, and were also technically qualified, thus running railways, telephone and telegraph and other technical services. They were, however, all along considered as traitors for their open support to West Pakistani troops and civilians. After the war, Biharis justifiably expected to be repatriated to Pakistan. Barring a handful, no Pakistan Government permitted their repatriation. This reprehensible treatment in disowning patriotic Pakistanis would remain a blemish on Pakistan.

The night 15/16^th December, 1971 was traumatic and hectic to say the least. Army helicopters were flying out to Burma in the early hours. An injured General was also a passenger on one, without the knowledge of General Niazi who was annoyed by his departure. Niazi wanted all the six General officers to accompany him, a logic which is difficult to understand. There were three Pak Army Divisions in East Pakistan, hence only General Officers should, at best, have remained with  him.  Offering three additional trophies to the Indians was not called for.

On repatriation to Pakistan, I was told by none less than the Chief of Air Staff of PAF that the sole purpose of going to war was to extricate West Pakistanis safely across India, therefore no meaningful operation against India was undertaken. This was not understood or acceptable to highly patriotic and professionally outstanding officers such as Brigadier F B Ali or Group Captain A M Sikander who rightly blamed Yahya for the break up of Pakistan.  Several of these officers were tried by General Court Martial (GCM) for engineering a conspiracy against the State.  General Zia-ul-Haq, heading the Attock GCM appreciated the sensitivity of the situation correctly and  awarded punishments to only a few. On the contrary, PAF overdid itself on the grounds of not tolerating indiscipline. It held a sadistic GCM at Badaber and awarded severe punishments to the cream of our small Air Force, the ill effects of which lasted for decades.

Mercifully, later the PAF did a better job of treating its repatriated POWs. It prematurely retired only once officer while most went on to continue their careers successfully. The Army POWs were, however shabbily treated, on grounds that they  had been brain washed.

The Villains

It is true that the seeds of hatred had been sown a long time ago. This hatred was nurtured over the years due to arrogant, callous, unjust, bigoted, short-sighted, and disdainful policies of the West Pakistani establishment and self-serving politicians.  Seeds of such hatred were sown right in the beginning, when Urdu was declared the official language of Pakistan, ignoring the rich Bengali language and culture of the majority. In such a sorry milieu, it is not easy to vilify individuals, but the actions of three actors are far too obvious to be overlooked.

I had little respect for Shaikh Mujib since I met him once in Los Angeles in 1957 at a dinner in his honour given by two Lahori brothers who were students in University of Southern California. I too was attending a course in USC. He was then an important politician holding the post of Secretary General of Awami League under Mr Suhrawardy. During dinner I was expecting him to speak on national issues facing Pakistan, politics, current and international affairs etc, but I was shocked to hear him talk mostly about women. Shaikh Mujib was neither an intellectual nor a man of principles, he was simply a loud-mouthed rabble rouser. Hard core policies and decisions were made by the hardliner Tajuddin sitting in Calcutta, with his coterie. In the sixties, Mujib was fully involved in Agartala Conspiracy. He was declared innocent on the urging of some of our well meaning leaders so that he could attend a round table conference chaired by Ayub Khan, as he tried desperately to hold on to power. This action by Ayub made Mujeeb an overnight hero in the eyes of Bengalis who had doubts about his involvement in the conspiracy.

Yahya Khan blundered naively in permitting Sheikh Mujib of Awami League to fight election of Dec ‘70 on the basis of his notorious Six Point manifesto. However, Yahya should have accepted the outcome of elections once held fairly and legally. He blundered again by not ensuring holding of Assembly session on 2^nd March at Dacca as planned, and handing over the government to the majority party, regardless. One thing is certain, Mujib once in power would NEVER have seceded from Pakistan for bringing about Bangladesh. Any one opposing holding of this session or instigating and threatening members who wished to attend, should have been arrested for sedition or at least isolated, for defying the writ of the government. Yahya foolishly kept on vacillating from one party to the other till he was led into a trap by Bhutto, convincing Yahya to commit yet another blunder on 26^th March 1971. Military action suited Bhutto, as he would have never been able to form a government once the parity of seats between the two wings was fairly but unwittingly abolished, giving more seats to East Pakistan on population basis. Yahya Khan also abolished One Unit system of each wing, thus reviving provincial rivalries.  In doing so, a naïve and simpleton Yahya undid what was achieved with great effort, viz parity of members in National Assembly, so graciously accepted by East Pakistanis. Yahya committed his last blunder in initiating the war which  appalled Chinese and other friendly countries, but pleased some of our leaders. Most happy was ‘that woman’ Mrs Indira Gandhi, since she was frantically looking for an excuse to undo the unity of Pakistan.

Clarification

Before I finish, I would like to clarify some confusion in the ‘Conclusion’ of Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission Report with my comments in brackets.  The concluding paragraph in verbatim  states: “Before, the air force was grounded by reason of Indian attack (due to cratering of runway around mid-day on 6^th Dec) it had indeed performed creditably.  Before 3^rd December, 1971, it had been of some considerable use and in all it had succeeded in destroying 11 (enemy) aircraft. (These aircraft were shot between 3^rd and mid-day 6^th Dec and not before 3^rd, as stated incorrectly by the report. What they perhaps mean  was very effective air support to Army till 3^rd December, 1971 which is fully covered in the text above. Shooting 11 aircraft up to 6^th Dec was creditable as per their stated judgment). On the whole, therefore, we have reached  to the conclusion that  while the performance of the air force deserves praise in the phase at least before 3^rd December, 1971, (actually meaning period till the end of air operations from 3^rd till 6^th December – confusing dates again) their performance thereafter was disappointing”. (After crediting good performance, ie shooting down of 11 enemy aircraft till 6^th December, 1971, only two issues described in the text give these remarks of disapproval. Those two issues were regarding dispatch of pilots without waiting enough for runway to be repaired, and secondly for  not destroying F-86s soon after dispatch of these  pilots, rationale for action regarding both  points is amply stated  at length, in preceding paragraphs).

A Prayer

In the end I would like to pray to Allah for granting  Pakistanis the wisdom to appreciate the value of FREEDOM  and to cherish and nurture it through sincere and honest application, in word and deed, of the most apt words: UNITY, FAITH, DISCIPLINE prescribed by the Father of the Nation.  Pakistan Zindabad.

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by Imran H. Khan

Take a good look of the photo of Attock Fort as I am going revisit it towards the end. The use of term science and technology subconsciously suggests that science comes first and technology is a product of science. There is a growing sense in the West that this linear thinking is disconnected with reality. The new thinking states that most of the science could not have been made possible without the availability of technology. While this discussion is best left to people are a lot more cerebral, I would like to focus on the question of relative importance given to technology and science in the developing world in general, and Pakistan in particular. Countries like Pakistan have to make smart choices in terms of allocation of limited human resources and money. My experience in Pakistan leads me to believe that there is a simplistic view of technology and science. Now I know that every time I write “technology and science”, something in your brain says that this author is again miss-typing science and technology.  This is the mental programming which subconsciously makes us think of the science’s supremacy over technology.  So we have titles like “Minister of Science and Technology”.  Which is why most, if not all of them are scientists.  By choosing scientists to be in the leading positions in the policy making arm of the governments, results in policies that favor science over technology.  There is a lot of good science that can be performed in developing countries specific to the inherent uniqueness of their surroundings. Research in developing the right kinds of seeds, development of drugs against local diseases, material for construction suited to the local climate and terrain etc. are all worthwhile areas of research. But research in more general areas do not get the Return On Investment (ROI) as it does in developed world due to longer gestation period and lack of entrepreneurial structure.  By contrast, investments in technology are more immediate and contribute to a rapid creation of wealth.  The eight hundred companies created by just the MIT alumni, generate $60 billion every year.  Most in the Chinese Communist Party leadership have engineering degrees. I would argue that US was an ascendant power when engineers like Ford, Hughes, Hewlett Packard ran the companies, and has started to go down with leaders having MBA degrees.

Trying to formulate a science and technology (S&T) policy in the absence of a strategic development policy is like putting horse before a non existing cart. The web sites of the fifteen departments under the Ministry of S&T, have only a couple that have lists of projects. Most of the activities are procedural in nature. The research institutes are in many instances conducting developments of products that are implementations of existing products. It is a case of scientists attempting to do engineering.

There are some instances of commendable development under the leadership of Dr. Atta ur-Rehman in the recent past. Raising the salaries of teachers and investment in the infrastructure were steps in the right direction. Similarly increasing scholarships for studies abroad was a long term investment that will surely bring rewards. But these to me are hygiene factors. Identifying technical areas like biotechnology and nanotechnology as areas of investment are the result of bottom-up academic-centric thinking.

The first and foremost need is to identify markets of strategic importance that we would like to excel globally. In a highly connected world, the leaders of the respective markets tend to take the lion’s share of it. For any country to excel in any market there has to be something inherent in the eco system of the country that gives it an unfair advantage compared to other countries. If it was simply a matter of throwing money, then the oil rich Arab countries would be dominating many areas of the global market. In reality they are no where to be seen despite their incredible wealth. Timing is equally important in terms of investing in a particular market. Being too early results in a lower ROI due to small market size; being too late results in competition with established large players. Being a leader in a particular market takes a huge amount of human and monetary resources. So only a few markets can be realistically targeted. Nokia in Finland generates $60 billion in sales annually. It employs 40,000 engineers in its R&D. Pakistan produces only 10,000 engineers every year.

Mathematics is the language of both technology and science. My experience during running a technology company in Pakistan left a lot to be desired in the area of mathematics. This is very unfortunate as Pakistanis are inherently very good at mathematics. My sense is that the lack of capability is due to lack of good teachers. If there is anything worth importing from India, it is their mathematics teachers from Southern India. If that is too difficult to achieve due to political reasons, there are many other countries like Turkey where teachers could be brought in from to develop our teacher training programs.

Focus on high margin higher tech products. It is impossible to maintain the seventh largest armed forces in the world based on the export of grey cloth and textiles. The bulk of value creation in the world has moved away from manufacturing to Intellectual Property based products and services. We are lucky to have the geographic proximity to China, which is the manufacturing super power of the world. We are also very fortunate to have an all-weather relationship with her. The development of JF-17 jet fighter and PAKSAT-IR satellite in collaboration with China are steps in the right direction. This strategy would free a lot of capital from having to invest upfront in the manufacturing infrastructure. We should make learning Chinese mandatory in engineering universities.

Just like narrow focus is needed in identifying markets, the investment in infrastructure for achieving excellence can only be done effectively in one or two regions. Even in developed countries there are only a handful of centers of excellence like the Silicon Valley, Bangalore or the 128 technology highway. Once the market has been identified, we need to identify the region for making it happen.

We need to create and grow the engineer-entrepreneur class that under stands how to effectively compete in a global market. No amount of technology and research is any good if it cannot provide a return on investment. This can only be achieved under the leadership of a civilian entrepreneur class. Our existing Seth class is totally unfit for the task at hand. Pakistan is fortunate in this regards in having a large technical diaspora. Some of whom have now started to return. Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America (OPEN) is engaged in Pakistan in conjunction with MIT in encouraging entrepreneurs in the IT area through Business Acceleration Plan competitions and the establishment of an angel network. OPEN is interested in starting a chapter in Punjab next, so that we can provide mentoring in areas other than IT.

There is a need for a cross department, industry, academia, defense think-tank that identifies the handful of narrow markets that the country will focus on excelling. Some of the global markets that could be potential candidates are listed below with their dollar size and the local advantage:

1. Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles ($12 billion). Domain knowledge of using them.
2. Video games ($40 Billion). Large number of software engineers
3. Medical Devices ($100 billion only in the US). Access to sales channels through the existing surgical tools industry.
4. Health IT. ($50 Billion). Software engineers and need to deliver low cost healthcare to a large and distributed population.
5. Micro Satellite and novel launch vehicles.

These are all innovation driven nascent markets with no dominant player. It is possible to buy some of the early leaders in the West at very low valuations in the current market to get a head start. I have just glossed over these categories. Within each market are a number of underlying technologies. The food chain in each market is quite sophisticated and offers opportunities that can be incrementally exploited.

Pakistan currently exports goods worth $19Billion each year. The technology based exports are a mere $200 million. Software exports are $2.8B and military sales $300 M. While these are small numbers for a country of 180 million people, they are the early rumblings of a high tech and high margin industry in a historically agricultural society.

The principal challenges in technology are fundamentally social in nature. They are:

1. Education system geared towards creativity.
2. High quality engineer-entrepreneur class that has a global vision.
3. Secure and inviting society with good infrastructure.
4. Trust in private enterprise with public and defense funding.
5. Protection of Intellectual Property.
6. Creation of Venture Capital.

The photo of the fort at Attock, taken by a British photographer William Baker in 1863, is the birth place of the famous hindu mathematician Panini. Panini was born in 520 BC and is credited as the forerunner of the modern formal language theory used to specify computer languages. Attock was the center of the Gandhara civilization that rose in 600 B.C. The fort was constructed during Akbar’s reign in 1581 and served well to protect his empire. During this period European nations of Holland, Spain, France and Britain were developing the technology of putting guns on sea faring vessels.

The great moghul empire was overwhelmed because they did not develop this technology. In fact the inhabitants of a very small and remote island got to rule the world because they perfected this technology.

Had Akbar invested in developing a seafaring Navy, the photo of the fort could easily have been of a Scottish Fort taken by an Indian. As luck would have it the British Army is once again roaming just 100 miles West of this fort today.

The Karakoram Highway that connects Pakistan with China ends very close to Attock. Pakistan’s premier technology center of Aeronautical Complex at Kamra is just few miles East of Attock.

Figure 1 Gandhara Airport, Islamabad

With the development of Islamabad Airport, NUST, GIK Institute, UET, Heavy Mechanical Complex, College of Aeronautical engineering , PINSTECH etc., the region between Islamabad and Attock is primed to become the hub of technology with the right kind of vision and leadership in technology and science. This region was great in six century BC, magnificent in the sixteenth and could once again become a model modern society where sub-continent sensibilities blend in with the Chinese and Western technologies to raise the quality of life of the surrounding regions.

This blog also appeared at Pakistaniat.com. You can see the comments that people have left there that add to it.

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Jinnah’s story is Pakistan’s story.(Biography of Jinnah by Stanley Wolpert is a must read for all Pakistanis). Jinnah single handedly brought about Pakistan, one of the two ideological state of the world, other being Israel . After Liaquat there was no leader worth a name. Jagirdars, waderas, etc and later Maulvies like Maududi . who were against creation of Pakistan hijacked it. Jinnah wanted a secular state with equal rights and complete of freedom to all religions. Punjabis, being ghulamana, obedient and slave-like mentality had leaders like Tiwanas, who were also against Pakistan, Frontier being dominated by Congressite Ghaffar Khan aka Frontier Gandhi, naturally supporting Hindu Congress as it (Congress) claimed to represent Muslims as well. Ghaffar Khan’s son Wali Khan and family are still loyal to India. All Indian dignitaries visiting Pakistan go and meet them in Charsada. Ghaffar Khan refused to be buried in Pakistan. So he was interred in Jalalabad, Adil Khattak attended the burial. Ghaffar khan’s family has property at Bombay Baluchistan was the only province which whole heartedly accepted Pakistan and Urdu as official language. It was Jinnahs advocation which brought Punjab and Frontier to its fold. Jinnah was a highly successful Lawyer of Bombay, very logical, clear headed, great orator and articulator, strictly law abiding in actions, honest to the nth degree. He was initially not only a member of Congress Party, but even its President. He was known as the ambassador of Hindu Muslim unity. But he soon found that Indian Congress Party was basically a Hindu Party. United Province now known as Uttar Pradesh, Congress did not not give even a single seat to Muslims, while they deserved 30 % seats. Crafty, so called ‘Mahatama’ Gandhi, though claimed that for him Hindus and Muslims were alike, but when Nehru’s sister Vijay Lakhshmi Pandit wanted to marry Ali Imam of Patna, he opposed it tooth and nail.

Earlier in 1920 Jinnah was disgusted by the selfish behaviour of Muslim Leaders, so he left for UK. Later in early thirties Agha Khan and other leaders like Allama Iqbal, Ali Bros (Shoukat Ali and Mohd Ali), etc realizing his capability, qualities and worth, prevailed upon him to attend the Round Table conferences in UK, representing Muslims of India. He returned to India in around 1933 and organized Muslim League as the sole party representing Muslims, despite chagrins and protests by Hindu Congress.

Towards the end of WW 2 (!939-1945) Great Britain became weak and wanted to hand over power to Indians. Many British delegations led by capable persons like Sir Stafford Cripps etc came with solutions fair to both Hindus and Muslims. Mr Jinnah every time considered the proposals coolly with colleague’s and in couple of days gave a positive response. Nehru on the other hand impetuously discarded the solutions since Muslims were given due rights in these. Even when Mountbatten’s came as Viceroy in late 1946 with full powers to settle the issue, Mr. Jinnah accepted his proposal of India-Pakistan confederation, having common joint foreign affairs, currency and defense. Nehru rejected it outright, as he, considering that Pakistan will not last long, prevailed upon Mountbatten to offer a truncated Pakistan, without Firozepur. Pathankot Districts, etc. Boundary Demarcation Commission was headed by Mr. Radcliffe a noble Judge who came to India for the first time, in hot and humid (No ACs then) end Jul,y only 15 days before partition.  He did not know or understand issues involved. So he signed on the dotted line as dictated to by Mountbatten, who in turn was guided by sly Nehru who had developed very good relations with Mountbatten. Nehru in turn was under the influence of Vallabbhai Patel, a very strong headed Home Minister longing for free India, a rabid Muslim hater but a great thinker. He violated all agreed rules and formuli, occupied Kashmir because ruler was a Hindu who was coaxed into accession with India, though Muslims had majority in Kashmir and should have joined Pakistan. In case of Hyderabad despite ruler being a Muslim willing to join Pakistan, was forcibly annexed by India since Hindus were in majority. Similarly he took over by force Pakistan bordering Junagarh and couple of other small states in Kathiawar Katch areas with Muslim Rulers who had acceded to Pakistan though these had Hindus in majority He interpreted rules according to “Head I win, tail you lose” whatever suited him. Patel also integrated all Princely States with main India despite Congress firm assurances to the contrary. On behest of Nehru and his coterie the Division of India was rushed without any proper planning/preparations for ensuring law and order during transition, or for establishing proper set up for a new government of a new country. Intentions were obvious, early collapse of Pakistan. Mr Jinnah once observed that you can trace the path of a fish in a fish bowl, but one cannot fathom the thinking of a Brahmin. When I was POW in India, almost every senior Indian Army officer would say that Pakistan has nothing to fear from India, and in the same breath would ask “wasn’t creation of Pakistan a mistake”. Indians are determined to turn whole of India into HINDUTVA sooner or later, and therefore have not and will never accept Pakistan despite all their chicanery and sweet publicity to the contrary.

This rushed decision, attributed to NH and Patel for not letting Pakistan to stabilize, caused massive loss of lives and property on either sides. To destabilize they further withheld Pakistan’s share of treasury, military equipment, ordnance all other assets. I know junk IAF aircraft were passed on to Pakistan Air Force as its share. Even Tiger Moth light training aircraft, when being flown to Karachi from Jodhpur, sugar was put in fuel tanks, engines ceasing after a while thus forcing them to crash land. Crafty Gandhi being far sighted and for continued influence over Pakistan and Muslims, insisted upon Nehru Government to transfer its share of treasury to Pakistan. He was shot and killed by a Hindu Marahatta Godse.( My first flying instructor at Karachi Flying Club was also a Hindu Marhatta Gogte) Hindu leaders being far sighted, started war like preparations well before partition to cater for all eventualities, including violent means to achieve their aims. One could then see the RSS (Rashtria Sevak Sang) being the Military wing of BJP (Bharatia Janata Party – Janata means people, whose goal is Hindutva – India for Hindus only) youth in Patiala and other cities, drilling and practicing military acts dressed in white shirts and khaki shorts. In Bassi they were conducting this training at dawn (when the Muslims were still asleep) less than a mile from our Ashraf Manzil at a large temple called Bhun next to a big pond meant for holy bath. Thus a rushed division suited Congress who were sure of an early collapse of Pakistan hence they not only accepted but insisted upon immediate partition with this hope. I must however relate that at Bombay Mr Jinnah was under the treatment of Dr Patel a Hindu Dr who diagnosed TB of Mr Jinnah and had predicted that he would not last more than a year. Had he revealed this info, Nehru would have dilly dallied and there would have been no Pakistan.

When Pakistan realized that Patel is usurping Kashmir and flying in troops, Patiala providing the first lot, Pathans from Frontier were the first to rush to Srinagar. Being indisciplined, instead of securing airfield so as not to let Indian troops fly in, they wasted time and indulged in looting. Indian troops soon managed to push them out. Pakistan Army was independent now and had a British General Gracey in command. Mr Jinnah ordered him to rush troops to Srinagar, instead he contacted his old boss Field Marshal Auchinlack in Delhi for instructions, who naturally did not agree to send Pak Army to Kashmir. Though Gracey was removed soon but the damage had been done. I know we had RAF officers as CinC and on other high posts in PAF. Barring first CinC Air Vice Marshal Atcherley, rest were all passengers only trying to help Brtish economy by making us buy obsolescent UK aircraft and equipment at exorbitant prices and much more than we needed. For example British CinC Air Marshal Cannon, bought 110 crude looking and full of bugs Bristol Freighters as against our requirement of only ten to twelve aircraft. That is why Air Marshal Asghar Khan having only 17 years of service was much better Chief than experienced but foxy Britishers.

Indian Congress party despite their claim of being secular. Abul Kalam Azad, born in Madina fully versed in Arabic, having full grasps of Islam, having translated and providing explanation of Quran first 18 Chaptes in 4 volumes, first volume covering Sura Fateha only, he did this while in prison, but could not complete as as he was released after he had translated first 18 Chapters. His translation and explanation is the best in my opinion despite of his being Azad and self opinionated. I got best consolation and comfort from it. Towards the end of his life he wrote a book titled “India Wins Freedom”. Though he had been President of Congress Party for several years and President of India, he is very critical of Nehru and coterie of Vallabhai Patel, Krishna Menon, etc. In the book he willed that I have written another 30 pages which should be published 30 years after his death. He died in mid fifties, but those pages are yet to be published. Intellectual Dishonesty. Recently a stalwart of BJP and ex Foreign Minister under Prime Minister Vajpai, Jaswant Singh, a Rajput, has written a book on Jinnah denying the Indian myth of Jinnah to be blamed for division of India. He has correctly blamed Nehru and Congress. There has been violent protest in India against this book and its author, it is being burnt at many places. Jaswant Singh’s book is the first one in above mentioned Wikipedia. Not released for general sale yet. Wikipedia also refers to many books on the subject even Urdu ones.

Shallowness of Nehru’s thinking and his impulsive nature is best seen in his stubborn and illogical handling of 1962 China border War with India where it cut a sorry figure with Chinese troops encircling NEFA Capital Tezpur. Chinese Commander asked for permission for arresting Indian General Commanding General Kaul. For permission Chinese Vice Chairman Standing Committee of Chinese Communist Party cum Vice Premier cum De fence Minister cum Chief of the General Staff commanding all the three services by the name Lo Ri Ching (known as Beria of China) wax contacted. A tall impressive soldier whom I met when he had a meeting with Air Marshal Nur Khan CinC PAF during his visit to Peking. In that meeting he criticized himself for not allowing General Kaul’s arrest. During Cultural Revolution later I saw his picture where Red Guards of Mao’ wife forced him onto a donkey with dunce cap on his head and facing backwards – indicating utter insult and condemnation. Similar treatment was meted to many other great leaders including Teng Shia Ping who later brought China to great prosperity and success. Soon after the war Chinese repatriated all captured Indian soldiers with their cleaned and polished weapons.(Had Mrs Indira Gandhi done the same to Pakistani POWs, Pakistan wold have collapsed). In this War Krishna Menon led Nehru up the garden path from where he never recovered till his death. It is best related in a book called “India’s China War” by Neville Maxwell, a British Times correspondent for umpteen years in Delhi prior to 1962. A must read book to understand India. Exposes very well how unreasonable and cunning are the Indians. When this Indo China war started, fearing an attack by Pakistan on Kashmir from where all Indian troops had been depleted, Nehru begged President Kennedy to assure Ayub Khan not take advantage as Nehru would definitely solve Kashmir issue after the war. Kennedy sent Averil Harriman who met Ayub at Peshawer Air Base for conveying assurance. Subsequently many meetings between Swaran Sigh and Z A Bhutto took place but to no avail till 1965 War commenced. An opportunity of the century for Pakistan was thus lost. Nehru never had the intentions of giving up Kashmir being a Kashmiri Pandit himself.

But Indians do have good qualities too. As compared to Muslims of the sub-continent, Hindus are better educated producing every year large number of scholars, scientists, philosophers, specialists in every filed. As compared to Pakistan, Indians are better disciplined, more civic sense, frugal in their habits have simpler life style, and of course far better and advanced acumen and discernment about trade , industry and commerce. Dedication of Indian diplomats in foreign missions have but to be admired. One episode to high light this point. In 1958 I was attending a Course in University of Southern California, Los Angeles. There were 3 Hussain brothers from Lahore also studying there. I was Squadron Leader in PAF then. On day they invited me to a meeting in Ambassador Hotel, Wilshire Blvd where Pakistani Ambassador will listen to problems faced by students in USA. I tagged along purely for curiosity sake. Every one reached the hotel at appointed time 5 PM, except the newly wedded (To his Secretary in DC, his second marriage, first wife at Bogra) His Excellency the Ambassador Mohd Ali Bogra, who later became Prime Minister of Pakistan. Eventually he turned up over one hour late. Before he could get into discussing students about their problem, Pakistani Counselor in San Francisco ex IAF Ex Wing Commander Shaffi, a Christian, rushed him through as HE had another engagement. Very frustrating for Hussain and others. One of Hussains told me then that his sister Razia is studying at Purdue University. A few weeks back Indian HE Jha visited the University. First thing on reaching there he inquired was whether there is any Pakistani student. On being told about Razia he asked to be taken to her first. HE Jha goes to her room and said to Razia, “Beti, I know you are from Pakistan but can I do anything for you”. Call it a PR Stunt, chicanery, or anything else but the impact of this gesture need no imagination. In other missions too Indians were dedicated as compared to Pakistani counterparts.

Before I conclude I must state, despite their other good features, Hindus suffer from a MAJOR flaw, they are small hearted which led to Partition, incapable of performing a gracious act (like release of POWs). That is why, as pointed out by British Historian Toynbee, Hindus have never in the past, barring a short period of about 200 years of rule by Gupta/Ashoka prior to birth of Christ, and will never in future govern INDIA. They would, however, perform well only as top administrators. AMEN

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