On 16 April 1987, Squadron Leader Badar-ul- Islam, with Squadron Leader Khalid Pervez Marwat as his No. 2, shot down an Afghan Su-22 with an AIM-9L missile. Squadron Leader Saif-ur-Rehman was controlling the formation. Had the formation pressed the Pak-Afghan border limits, they would have achieved more kills as the formation No.2, Squadron Leader Khalid Pervez Marwat was about to fire his missile on the enemy aircraft that he had locked on his radar. However, the self-discipline prevailed over the self-glory and he called off the attack on the instructions of his leader, as the formation was crossing International border. This is the sixth of the 10 documentaries that I plan to share on the ‘undeclared secret war’ that Pakistan Air Force fought for a decade. This all took place in 80’s when in late December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. In the context of the Cold War, this move initially caused a considerable surprise and excitement in the West, as it was seen as an indirect threat for the situation in the Persian Gulf, especially after the US lost their most important ally in the area, the Shah of Iran, which was overthrown in February of the same year. Immediately afterward, however, except for diplomatic protests, no direct actions were undertaken by Western powers against the Soviet Union, and it was on the Afghan people to organize a resistance against the aggressor. Pakistan government decided to resist this occupation but that was not easy. While the acquisition of new aircraft was underway, the PAF and the Pakistani Army were already engaged organizing their positions along the Afghani border, which was a particularly problematic task, considering the rugged terrain and problematic movements of units and supplies. These 10 years of occupation of Soviet Union not only enabled PAF to prove to be a robust Air Force but Soviet Union ended up getting at least nine aircraft shot down during these ten years. This series is aimed at recording the valorous stories of the PAF for the world in general and Pakistani Nation in particular and also to pay tribute to those men and women in blue who confronted one of the super power of the time, fearlessly. These ‘kills’ would be shared periodically with a gap of two weeks. Happy Viewing
#Pakistanairforce#Pakafghan#PAFvictories
--
Subscribe to our KZfaq channel: kzfaq.info...
--
Follow me on our Social Media accounts:
Facebook: / kfchishti
Instagram: / kfchishti
Twitter: / aircommodorer
Linkedin: / khalid-chishti-903a78207
--
Aspire Pakistan Website: aspirepakistan.com/
My Jinnah Memories Website: www.myjinnah.com/