Newsmakers 2019: PAF

The Pakistan Air Force has covered itself in glory in the past, both in the 1965 War and in defending Pakistan during the Afghan Jihad in the 1980s. It continued successfully defending the motherland by shooting down two IAF jets when they had intruded at Balakot after the Pulwama incident in February. One of the downed jets came down in Pakistan, and its pilot, Wing Commander AbhinandanVarthaman, was captured by Pakistan Army troops. He remained in Pakistani custody for 60 hours, before he was handed back to the Indians. He was awarded the Vir Chakra later, probably the first time that a pilot has won a gallantry medal for being shot down. The PAF has over half a century of competition with the IAF, and in this latest test it came out ahead on all counts. It did what an air force is supposed to, which is the reason why countries have air forces– to defend their airspace. Compared to that, the rolling out of the JF-17 (the two-seater version of the F-17) may have seemed tame, but it is steps like that which enable the shooting down of intruders like Abhinandhan’sMiG 21.