LAHORE, Sept 5: Brig Inamul Haq retired who was incharge of the army operations at the Lahore sector during the September, 1965 Indo-Pak war has said that the then military high command was responsible for keeping the border exposed and vulnerable to the Indian attack.
He was speaking at a discussion held at the Press Institute of Pakistan in connection with the Defence of Pakistan Day. Renowned playwright Ashfaq Ahmad was in chair.
Mr Inamul Haq said that the Wagah and Burki border had been deliberately kept without adequate army strength and necessary military equipment as the then army generals had told him that it would provoke the Indians to attack Pakistan. So much so that even land mines were not allowed to be laid along the border.
“That was the reason the Indians found an easy walk over when they invaded the Lahore border in the wee hours of Sept 6, 1965. Only Major Shafqat Baloch who was later promoted as Lt-Col and Major Habib Ahmad with their small units were there to defend the long border. It was the help of Allah Almighty and the courage and valour of the small army units and the unmatched spirit of the nation which had stood like a rock behind the Pakistani soldiers that had saved Lahore from the Indian thrust.”
He said that the army high command should have foreseen the possibility of Indian attack at the Lahore border when Pakistan army was making advances in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and had decided to attack Chhamb-Jorrian sector at a meeting held at Kharian a day earlier which was attended by senior army commanders, including the Lahore GOC Maj-Gen Sarfraz Ahmad Khan.
He said that another blunder committed by the army high command was that the 15 to 20 per cent of the troops who had gone on leave on routine were not summoned and their leaves were not cancelled. They could be made available for posting at the border.
He further said that it was also the complete failure of the military intelligence which failed to report the Indian troops movement along the border. He said that the Customs and Rangers staff posted at the border were calling him and other army personnel on telephone to tell that they were watching Indian tanks and armoured cars crossing the border and entering the Pakistan territory. “It is strange that at least one division of Indian troops had been deployed and we had no information,” he lamented.
Lt-Col Shafqat Baloch (retired) who fought at the Burki sector said that he was informed that there was no possibility of any enemy attack on Sept 5 and on the following day he had seen the villagers, customs and rangers staff running to their safety from the border areas. He said that contrary to the high command’s optimism he had a hunch that it was going to be a historic war and that he would be the first Pakistani soldier to resist the enemy. This was what exactly had happened. He said that despite the fact that Pakistani army had made no preparations to check the Indian army at the Burki sector he had ordered fire at the Indian positions and tanks.
It was so severe and targeted that the Indians thought that they were facing a big army. He narrated many interesting details of the war, particularly his meeting with the Indian army officers after the war.
Flying officer Qais M. Hussain (retired) gave the details of the PAF’s successful bombardment of Indian military airports and how his plane was shot and caught fire in India but he managed to drag back to Pakistan. He deplored that the nation was losing the spirit with which it fought the war.
Columnist Ataur Rahman paid rich tributes to the PAF for its great performance during the war and the valour of the flying officers who had destroyed the Indian airports and army positions during 17 days of the war. He said that without the PAF cover the army could not succeed in its fight. He said that credit must be given to China for keeping India from attacking East Pakistan. He discussed at length the repeated military interruption in democratic process of the country and betrayal of the US in preventing the East Pakistan separation.
Ashfaq Ahmad recalled how the entire nation had united and risen to extend full support to the armed forces of Pakistan during the war. He said that all sections of society had made their best contribution to fight against India in their respective fields of activity. He emphasised the need for rekindling the same spirit because the threat from India still persisted which had brought its army on Pakistan’s borders. He said that Pakistan was the only hope for the entire South Asia against Indian hegemony.
PFUJ president I.H. Raashed highlighted the media’s performance during the war and labour leaders Osama Tariq discussed the contribution made by the working class in keeping the essential services like telecommunications, railways, Wapda, WASA etc. The institute director Farooq Nisar suggested that Istiqlal flag should be hoisted by the relatives of the martyrs of the war instead of government officers.