PAF: Past, Present And Future.

Within one year of Pakistan's emergence as the largest Islamic state in the world; its founder, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah defined a vision for the formation and development of the Pakistan Air Force. On April 13, 1948, while visiting the pilots' training centre at PAF Station Risalpur, the Quaid asserted, 'A country without a strong Air Force is at the mercy of any aggressor. Pakistan must build up her Air Force as quickly as possible. It must be an efficient Air Force, Second To None.' PAF has followed Quaid's dictum in letter and spirit and maintains a high standard of professionalism, and discipline to prove itself as second to none.

The utmost operational preparedness remains a priority for the PAF, its leadership has had the ability to visualize the impending conflict right from the beginning. PAF anticipated the 1965 war with India at least six months earlier, and hence was fully prepared for it, when it finally broke out on the 6th of September, 1965. In fact, the PAF's preparation had started in April 1965, when the Rann of Kutch conflict with India was unfolding in the southern extremities of Pakistan. However, PAF did not initiate any offensive manoeuvre and remained prepared to respond in case IAF appeared in the skies to support its land forces.

Air Marshal Asghar Khan, the first Pakistani to lead PAF, handed over the command to Air Marshal Noor Khan on July 23, 1965. However, this change of command just before an impending conflict did not have any adverse impact on PAF's ongoing preparation, because the incumbent aggressively pursued the defined course of action, and personally supervised the operational preparedness.

The IAF, at the beginning of the first all-out war between India and Pakistan, had a numerical superiority of 3.8:1 over the PAF, however, the latter's offensive and attacking strategy paralysed the much larger adversary right at the onset of air operations. PAF, in spite of numerical superiority, was able to overwhelm IAF, and the same has been successfully maintained over so many decades, and therefore, IAF has not been able to create any impression on the PAF during its enduring rivalry.

The 1965 war was the first ever all-out war that PAF was fighting against IAF. Therefore, its leadership concentrated on achieving surprise and adopted an air strategy of 'offensive defence.' Perhaps, IAF leadership did not expect that a small-sized air force would take that risk against a much bigger adversary.

PAF's...