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In the name of honour
The value of a land can only be judged by the sacrifices rendered in the way of safeguarding it. September 6, 1965 was one such day forever etched in the minds of those who were witness to one of the greatest wars in the history of Pakistan.
The roots of the battle, also known as the Second Kashmir War, date back much further to political upheavals between Pakistan and India on matters relating to Kashmir and the Rann of Kutch. The actual battle, however, commenced on the morning of September 6, 1965, at 3:00 am, when under the cloak of darkness, Indian troops crossed the Pakistani border without formal declaration, and launched a three-tiered offensive against Lahore, Rajasthan and Sialkot.
The Indian onslaught took Pakistani forces by surprise, and initially, the Indian army met with considerable success in Kashmir. As a matter of fact, after a drawn-out artillery onslaught, India was able to capture three key mountain positions. During counterattack by Pakistan, a fierce tank battle took place on the plains of Punjab where the Indian forces found themselves up against technically superior Pakistani tanks and suffered heavy losses. Most of the war was fought on land using foot soldiers and tanks, with backing from air forces.
However, Pakistan’s timely response managed to keep our forces on level footing with the enemy’s strength, and our troops had made considerable progress in areas such as Tithwal, Uri and Poonch while India had moved significantly into Azad Kashmir, having captured the Haji Pir Pass, eight kilometres inside our territory. Indeed, so grave was the enemy’s silent attack that had it not been countered in time, Lahore would have been conquered over night.
The Indian air force was activated to strike targets in the southern region. During the beginning of this offensive, a PAF F-104 shot down an Indian Air Force Mystère IV, making the first combat kill with a Mach 2-capable aircraft. In the battle that followed, Pakistan made counter attacks on India using F-104s, F-86s, B-57s and RT-33As.
During the war that lasted for 23 days, the Pakistan Navy also played a key role in holding enemy forces at bay. Operation Dwarka is one of the most significant events which reflected our Navy’s immense coordination, discipline and courage. The objectives of this operation were to draw the heavy enemy units out of Bombay and to destroy the radar installation at Dwarka and to divert Indian Air effort away from the north.
On September 7, 1965, when the ships were on their normal war patrol, the task group comprising PNS Babur, PNS Khaibar, PNS Badr, PNS Jahangir, PNS Alamgir, PNS Shahjahan and PNS Tipu Sultan were ordered to be in position with maximum power available. The target was to be city installations and complete radio silence was to be maintained. The Fleet immediately made headway for the Operation. At midnight, the Dwarka port was completely blacked out, and as our fleets waited in position, the target could only be identified on radar.
At 00:24, bombardment was ordered to commence. The entire showdown took only four minutes to complete successfully, after which, our ships retired without any loss or damages. There was no considerable resistance from the enemy and the ships safely arrived at their patrol area by 6:35 on September 8.
As a result of the War, the Indian army suffered 3,000 battlefield deaths while Pakistan suffered 3,800. It is also during this war that a number of our legendary war heroes displayed their valour and sacrificed their lives to safeguard their country. The cross border battle, however, drew international concerns, wherein our age-old friendly neighbour, China, offered military support to Pakistan. To counter this move, the Soviet Union and the United States pressurised the United Nation to enforce an immediate ceasefire, following which both the sides retreated to their pre-August lines. In January 1966, the rulers of both the countries met in Tashkent and signed an agreement, now known as the Tashkent Declaration, wherein both the countries agreed upon continued peaceful negotiations and cease-fire conditions. Peace ensued following this, until, of course, the War of 1971. But that is another story …
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