[VIDEO/PICTURES] Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returns to India

[sweep_shot]

A statue of an Indian pilot whose plane was shot down by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) over Indian-occupied Kashmir earlier this year has been put on display in Karachi, invoking the ire of India's media.

The life-sized statue of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman — complete with his signature moustache — has been installed in an exhibit at the PAF Museum in Karachi.

Varthaman's plane was shot down in a dogfight over the disputed Himalayan region in February during clashes which brought nuclear-armed India and Pakistan to the brink of a new war.

After his capture, the Pakistani military released a video showing him sipping a cup of tea and politely refusing to answer questions.

His stoic and courteous demeanour — and comment that the tea was “fantastic” — catapulted him to hero status in India.

He was released several days later in a peace gesture from Pakistan aimed at defusing tensions.

The statue stands in a gallery named Operation Swift Retort.

The exhibit includes parts of the fuselage and tail of Varthaman's aircraft, a Mig-21, as well as a tea mug — though apparently not the same one the pilot was seen sipping from.

The gallery also contains images re-enacting the moment his plane was shot down, and photographs showing him being handed back to India at the Wagah border crossing.

A mess receipt jokingly charging Varthaman for the tea — at the cost of one Mig-21 — is also framed in the exhibit. Images of the mocking receipt went viral in the days after his capture.

The museum stands inside a recreational park for young people in Karachi, complete with decommissioned aircraft and other military hardware.

“I feel very proud of my country seeing Abhinandan's statue at the gallery,” said Samiullah Bari, a 10th grade student visiting the museum on a school trip.

Indians were less enthusiastic, however, with the Times of India newspaper calling the exhibit “a new low”.

Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1516292/statue-of-indian-pilot-abhinandan-installed-in-karachis-paf-museum.

 

[DoosraTeesra]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PAF has put mannequin of Abhi Nandhan on display in the museum. This would be a more interesting display, if it they can arrange a Cup of FANTASTIC tea in his hand. <a href="https://t.co/ZKu9JKcrSQ">pic.twitter.com/ZKu9JKcrSQ</a></p>— Anwar Lodhi (@AnwarLodhi) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnwarLodhi/status/1193198322779131905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

There is a cup of fantastic tea right beside him on the shelf

Fantastic tea that was served hot on that beautiful morning of February 27th.

 

[msaaim89]

There is a cup of fantastic tea right beside him on the shelf

Fantastic tea that was served hot on that beautiful morning of February 27th.

I think some people have gone well over board.

Yes, it's brilliant that a pilot of a hostile nation was shot down especially given the situation whereby the Indians were the aggressors.

However, some posters here keep harping on and on about it as though they've overshadowed Alexander's accomplishments.

 

[finalfantasy7]

I think some people have gone well over board.

Yes, it's brilliant that a pilot of a hostile nation was shot down especially given the situation whereby the Indians were the aggressors.

However, some posters here keep harping on and on about it as though they've overshadowed Alexander's accomplishments.

I disagree, if ukraine took down russia aircraft - if would reach uk/us/pak/indian news and will be the main topic for many days.

Same if this happened to israel - usa/mexico, serbia/bosnia, north k /s.korea

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Statue of Indian pilot Abhinandan installed in Karachi's PAF Museum.

Lol poor Abhinandan.


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's life-sized statue stands in a gallery named Operation Swift Retort <a href="https://t.co/1PQBuQWDu1">https://t.co/1PQBuQWDu1</a> <a href="https://t.co/MlfDP678QE">pic.twitter.com/MlfDP678QE</a></p>— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) <a href="https://twitter.com/dawn_com/status/1194337635017404416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2019</a>
</blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

Embarrassing stuff really. We released him as a goodwill gesture but doing something like this just tarnished that gesture.

 

[kk1992]

Embarrassing stuff really. We released him as a goodwill gesture but doing something like this just tarnished that gesture.

Part of history.

It was recorded and documented.

Pakistan released him as a goodwill gesture and to avoid furthering the conflict.

And it become extremely important to display facts when RSS/BJP government trying their best to spread propaganda.

It was government of India and himself who embarrassed himself and his country by lying to billion + people of India.

 

[PakLFC]

I see nothing wrong with it.

 

[AdamM97]

Lol poor Abhinandan.


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's life-sized statue stands in a gallery named Operation Swift Retort <a href="https://t.co/1PQBuQWDu1">https://t.co/1PQBuQWDu1</a> <a href="https://t.co/MlfDP678QE">pic.twitter.com/MlfDP678QE</a></p>— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) <a href="https://twitter.com/dawn_com/status/1194337635017404416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2019</a>
</blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Embarrassing. No need to flaunt about what happened in February like this.

 

[emranabbas]

Happy Tea Day To All Fellow Pakistanis

 

[Last Monetarist]

2-year anniversary of the skirmish today. Time sure flies.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Embarrassing

 

[CricketCartoons]

If pakistan had made him face the firing squad, he would have a statue in india and would have respect. Instead he will live with the embarrassment of being paraded like a mule and forever shaming india in the annals of history.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Operation Swift Retort sounds like a clumsy attempt to mimic English speaking nation state military ops. I think that is more embarrassing than the statue itself.

Then to add insult to injury you have someone posting patriotic PAF song called Sadaa-e-Pakistan, yet you have Indians coming on here saying Pakistanis are rejecting their culture.

 

[Technics 1210]

No PG tips or Tetley today, Lipton all the way!

 

[Varun]

Is this fraud still flying fighter jets for us? Hope he has been consigned to a desk job somewhere.

 

[Bigboii]

Is this fraud still flying fighter jets for us? Hope he has been consigned to a desk job somewhere.

Even MM Alam would look like a fraud with Soviet era junk against a modern plane like thunder...

(But would love to know why you are calling him a fraud)

 

[pillionrider]

Is this fraud still flying fighter jets for us? Hope he has been consigned to a desk job somewhere.

As far as I know, according to the rules, his flying days are done.

 

[Ryw]

Is this fraud still flying fighter jets for us? Hope he has been consigned to a desk job somewhere.

Show some respect to the soldier, actually he had the courage and showed the dare to enter Pakistan unlike you on a Keyboard and #Saifalikhan #Bollywood #Phantom #2015...

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Is this fraud still flying fighter jets for us? Hope he has been consigned to a desk job somewhere.

This is unfair to him. We the general public will never know all the facts about what went down... guy did put his life on line in hostile territory.

Heck, he almost got beaten to death by locals, thanks goodness Pak military arrived on time.

 

[msb314]

Is this fraud still flying fighter jets for us? Hope he has been consigned to a desk job somewhere.

This is unfair to him. We the general public will never know all the facts about what went down... guy did put his life on line in hostile territory.

Heck, he almost got beaten to death by locals, thanks goodness Pak military arrived on time.

He lost a fighter jet for IAF.

I’m pretty sure there are serious consequences for losing a fighter plane and pretty sure he won’t be flying again..

Risking his life or not - he knew what he signed up for and knew the consequences for failure..

 

[CricketCartoons]

Show some respect to the soldier, actually he had the courage and showed the dare to enter Pakistan unlike you on a Keyboard and #Saifalikhan #Bollywood #Phantom #2015...

if I get captured in pakistani territory, would ask to face the firing squad, instead of spineless praise for their tea and hospitality and coming back without any dignity. no respect for this coward.

 

[Bigboii]

He lost a fighter jet for IAF.

I’m pretty sure there are serious consequences for losing a fighter plane and pretty sure he won’t be flying again..

Risking his life or not - he knew what he signed up for and knew the consequences for failure..

Not for losing jets
but ejection is brutal on ones body so majority of pilots after ejection can't pass the physical requirements of flying

 

[Stewie]

Don’t get the hate Indians have for Abhi. I actually liked him for maintaining a sense of cool while captured by the enemy. and I can only imagine what was going through his head considering all the propaganda Indians spread about Pakistan and what we do with Indian soldiers. It is all of course terrible lies.. we treated him with respect and he was grateful and graceful under duress.
The whole incident showed both sides have more humanity than we are lead to believe. For once it put aside some malicious feelings as far as I am concerned.

 

[pillionrider]

Don’t get the hate Indians have for Abhi. I actually liked him for maintaining a sense of cool while captured by the enemy. and I can only imagine what was going through his head considering all the propaganda Indians spread about Pakistan and what we do with Indian soldiers. It is all of course terrible lies.. we treated him with respect and he was grateful and graceful under duress.
The whole incident showed both sides have more humanity than we are lead to believe. For once it put aside some malicious feelings as far as I am concerned.

Those who hate him probably do so for his positive remarks about his treatment.

Almost being beaten to death, maintaining his poise during that first video interrogation - I respect him for that. I didn't believe in the over-the-top celebrations or making him some kind of hero thing but I don't hate him. Not a hero to me, but worthy of a lot of respect.

Varun always has contempt for those who fly MiGs

 

[CricketCartoons]

Don’t get the hate Indians have for Abhi. I actually liked him for maintaining a sense of cool while captured by the enemy. and I can only imagine what was going through his head considering all the propaganda Indians spread about Pakistan and what we do with Indian soldiers. It is all of course terrible lies.. we treated him with respect and he was grateful and graceful under duress.
The whole incident showed both sides have more humanity than we are lead to believe. For once it put aside some malicious feelings as far as I am concerned.

We taxpayers are not paying for him to show grace and gratefulness to the enemy. He had one job. He failed.

 

[Stewie]

We taxpayers are not paying for him to show grace and gratefulness to the enemy. He had one job. He failed.

Well I think it’s not him, the Indian air force think tank got outsmarted. Perhaps they were not expecting the sort of ambush that waited for Abhi. As a soldier he did his part. Maybe they should have told him to stay out of it and not encroach Pakistan air space, like they did before when they bombed the trees.

If anything the hate should be served for the air force and other operational head honchos.

 

[Tubs]

Glad to see many Pakistanis here for giving Abhinadan respect for flying into hostile territory, and conducting himself very well after nearly being beaten to death and being detained.

Disappointed to see mainly Indians bashing him.

I hope this tribalism and obsession over military ends soon, it is pretty disturbing on both sides, but the reactions to this do surprise me.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Did DG ISPR lie to Pakistani public?
How confident is he here in delivering a lie OR was his information based on wrong intel?

Listen from 4:25 to 5:10

How is this even possible?

 

[Slog]

Did DG ISPR lie to Pakistani public?
How confident is he here in delivering a lie OR was his information based on wrong intel?

Listen from 4:25 to 5:10

How is this even possible?

Is this about the second pilot. This was obv wrong intel. The presser was given live as report was developing. What most likely was the case was that he was told two people were brought in for medical attention and he assumed both Indian

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Is this about the second pilot. This was obv wrong intel. The presser was given live as report was developing. What most likely was the case was that he was told two people were brought in for medical attention and he assumed both Indian

Let's hope that's the case.

From Abhinandan's account, he was the one sent to hospital, so that matches with Ghafoo's statement, but it's very weird that the intel to be so wrong in identifying the second pilot as not one of their own?

Here is the latest version of Abhinandan that has some uncut clips that were previously not published. Listen from 1:10 to 1:25

 

[MenInG]

New Delhi: Indian Air Force ace pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been promoted to the rank of Group Captain.

The officer was involved in a dog fight with Pakistani fighter aircraft and was awarded a Shaurya Chakra for taking down an F-16 combat aircraft during the engagement.

The officer has been cleared for promotion to the rank of Group Captain by the IAF and he would be putting on his new rank shortly, sources told ANI.

Group Captain is equivalent to a Colonel in the Indian Army.

Abhinandan's MiG-21 fighter aircraft was shot down after he took down the F-16 and landed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), where he was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army.

The Pakistan Army was forced to release him due to the extensive pressure exerted by the Indian side along with the international intervention into the matter.

Abhinandan was part of the Srinagar-based 51 squadron and had flown to thwart an aerial attack launched by the Pakistanis on February 27, 2019.

India had launched an aerial strike on Pakistan's terrorist facility in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area run by the Jaish-e-Mohammed.

https://www.timesnownews.com/india/...nandan-varthaman-to-group-captain-rank/829079

 

[LaLoco]

New Delhi: Indian Air Force ace pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been promoted to the rank of Group Captain.

The officer was involved in a dog fight with Pakistani fighter aircraft and was awarded a Shaurya Chakra for taking down an F-16 combat aircraft during the engagement.

The officer has been cleared for promotion to the rank of Group Captain by the IAF and he would be putting on his new rank shortly, sources told ANI.

Group Captain is equivalent to a Colonel in the Indian Army.

Abhinandan's MiG-21 fighter aircraft was shot down after he took down the F-16 and landed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), where he was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army.

The Pakistan Army was forced to release him due to the extensive pressure exerted by the Indian side along with the international intervention into the matter.

Abhinandan was part of the Srinagar-based 51 squadron and had flown to thwart an aerial attack launched by the Pakistanis on February 27, 2019.

India had launched an aerial strike on Pakistan's terrorist facility in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area run by the Jaish-e-Mohammed.

https://www.timesnownews.com/india/...nandan-varthaman-to-group-captain-rank/829079

Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes a truth - We are witnessing history being distorted while brain washing the masses.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

New Delhi: Indian Air Force ace pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been promoted to the rank of Group Captain.

The officer was involved in a dog fight with Pakistani fighter aircraft and was awarded a Shaurya Chakra for taking down an F-16 combat aircraft during the engagement.

The officer has been cleared for promotion to the rank of Group Captain by the IAF and he would be putting on his new rank shortly, sources told ANI.

Group Captain is equivalent to a Colonel in the Indian Army.

Abhinandan's MiG-21 fighter aircraft was shot down after he took down the F-16 and landed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), where he was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army.

The Pakistan Army was forced to release him due to the extensive pressure exerted by the Indian side along with the international intervention into the matter.

Abhinandan was part of the Srinagar-based 51 squadron and had flown to thwart an aerial attack launched by the Pakistanis on February 27, 2019.

India had launched an aerial strike on Pakistan's terrorist facility in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area run by the Jaish-e-Mohammed.

https://www.timesnownews.com/india/...nandan-varthaman-to-group-captain-rank/829079

Thanks for the update bro.

Having a good laugh here!

 

[Ahmad-GERMANFC]

New Delhi: Indian Air Force ace pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been promoted to the rank of Group Captain.

The officer was involved in a dog fight with Pakistani fighter aircraft and was awarded a Shaurya Chakra for taking down an F-16 combat aircraft during the engagement.

The officer has been cleared for promotion to the rank of Group Captain by the IAF and he would be putting on his new rank shortly, sources told ANI.

Group Captain is equivalent to a Colonel in the Indian Army.

Abhinandan's MiG-21 fighter aircraft was shot down after he took down the F-16 and landed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), where he was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army.

The Pakistan Army was forced to release him due to the extensive pressure exerted by the Indian side along with the international intervention into the matter.

Abhinandan was part of the Srinagar-based 51 squadron and had flown to thwart an aerial attack launched by the Pakistanis on February 27, 2019.

India had launched an aerial strike on Pakistan's terrorist facility in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area run by the Jaish-e-Mohammed.

https://www.timesnownews.com/india/...nandan-varthaman-to-group-captain-rank/829079

Lmao. I wonder how Abhinandan feels knowing the truth of not bringing down any jet

 

[cric_man]

IAF has in the past promoted officers who had surrendered their aircraft, so this guy actually went full force into a fight (albeit blinded) so all good.

In 1965 , F/L (later Air Chief Marshal) Hakimullah flying a F-104 starfighter forced an IAF Gnat to surrender! The Gnat landed at Pasrur airfield where the pilot S/L Sikand was taken PoW by Pak Army. in 1987 S/L Sikand rose to the rank of Air Marshal and was made AOC-Western Command.
His Gnat is displayed at the PAF Museum in Karachi.



Captured Gnat

 

[Zeshan547]

Lmao. I wonder how Abhinandan feels knowing the truth of not bringing down any jet

Bhai muft ke praise kis zalim ko buri lgti hai, and even if he wanted to state the truth he can't, bigots will rip him apart.

 

[cric_man]

Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes a truth - We are witnessing history being distorted while brain washing the masses.

They are following the Chanakya / Goebbels doctrine.


All 4 of his missile were recovered reasonably intact from the wreckage of his Mig-21. He did not fire anything.

 

[street cricketer]

IAF has in the past promoted officers who had surrendered their aircraft, so this guy actually went full force into a fight (albeit blinded) so all good.

In 1965 , F/L (later Air Chief Marshal) Hakimullah flying a F-104 starfighter forced an IAF Gnat to surrender! The Gnat landed at Pasrur airfield where the pilot S/L Sikand was taken PoW by Pak Army. in 1987 S/L Sikand rose to the rank of Air Marshal and was made AOC-Western Command.
His Gnat is displayed at the PAF Museum in Karachi.

View attachment 112861

Captured Gnat
View attachment 112862

I know it's great banter but a lot of people don't realise that going down in a war does not spell the end of one's military career. Unfortunately the quality of military discussion in the subcontinent is often on par with the level of cricket discussion in a cricinfo comments section and mainly because not many understand the military history and nuances and go by simple tribalistic inferences like "my army is better because it's my country" kinda mentality.

This may be news for a lot of people including you, but the last Chief of airstaff of the most powerful airforce in the world went down in a battle after his F16 was brought down by a SAM in Serbia. Luckily he was evacuated soon after by NATO helicopters.

Another bit of trivia, two PAF pilots flying a Sabre were shot down by an IAF Gnat fighter and the two of them were taken POW in the 1971 war. Unlike Abhinandan, they spent nearly 3 years in India as POWs before they were repatriated to Pakistan and guess what, one of them rose to the highest postion in the PAF when he became the CAS. I think you need to learn more about the history of your own airforce and then the other airforces of the world.

 

[LaLoco]

I know it's great banter but a lot of people don't realise that going down in a war does not spell the end of one's military career. Unfortunately the quality of military discussion in the subcontinent is often on par with the level of cricket discussion in a cricinfo comments section and mainly because not many understand the military history and nuances and go by simple tribalistic inferences like "my army is better because it's my country" kinda mentality.

This may be news for a lot of people including you, but the last Chief of airstaff of the most powerful airforce in the world went down in a battle after his F16 was brought down by a SAM in Serbia. Luckily he was evacuated soon after by NATO helicopters.

Another bit of trivia, two PAF pilots flying a Sabre were shot down by an IAF Gnat fighter and the two of them were taken POW in the 1971 war. Unlike Abhinandan, they spent nearly 3 years in India as POWs before they were repatriated to Pakistan and guess what, one of them rose to the highest postion in the PAF when he became the CAS. I think you need to learn more about the history of your own airforce and then the other airforces of the world.

Pakistani do not care about any of that, Abhi fought for his country, he was on the front lines and he made it out alive, he deserve to stay and get ranked.

Pakistani are just correcting the distorted made up narrative of that day that India and Indian media is trying to push it out.

 

[cric_man]

I know it's great banter but a lot of people don't realise that going down in a war does not spell the end of one's military career. Unfortunately the quality of military discussion in the subcontinent is often on par with the level of cricket discussion in a cricinfo comments section and mainly because not many understand the military history and nuances and go by simple tribalistic inferences like "my army is better because it's my country" kinda mentality.

This may be news for a lot of people including you, but the last Chief of airstaff of the most powerful airforce in the world went down in a battle after his F16 was brought down by a SAM in Serbia. Luckily he was evacuated soon after by NATO helicopters.

Another bit of trivia, two PAF pilots flying a Sabre were shot down by an IAF Gnat fighter and the two of them were taken POW in the 1971 war. Unlike Abhinandan, they spent nearly 3 years in India as POWs before they were repatriated to Pakistan and guess what, one of them rose to the highest postion in the PAF when he became the CAS. I think you need to learn more about the history of your own airforce and then the other airforces of the world.

Oh no another essay (albeit short one)

I think you need to re-read my post. It was sarcastic yes but nothing to degrade G/C Abhinandhan. More a dig at IAF. The Group Captain was a true officer and a gentlemen on the fateful day and more importantly after going back to India. Not once has he taken to claim that he shot down a PAF F-16 as repeatedly claimed by all and sundry on the other side.
He went in when his better equipped comrades withdrew from the battlefield and paid the ultimate price. No dishonor in that. Similarly a certain F/L Pervez Qureshi Mehdi of the No14 sqn out of Dhaka was shot down by numerically superior adversary on the very first day and spent time as POW. He later on became CAS.
S/L Sikand on the other hand did not fight when challenged by the enemy. He just surrendered without a fight. He failed upwards it seems. Don't fret our side has cases like these as well so my comment was not even my Airforce is better than yours.

While mentioning Gen Goldfein, you forgot a certain Cdr McCain who was shot down over Vietnam and later on became senator from Arizona and almost US President? Or Capt O'Grady another F-16 pilot shotdown over Serbia who was recently elected to congress from Texas.

I think you need to learn more about the history of your own airforce and then the other airforces of the world.

Buddy you have no idea what my background is. That was very presumptuous and condescending of you to lecture me about Pak Fiza'ya. Maybe a certain PQ was my neighbor while AOC Southern Command, maybe I grew up with a certain Air Cdre Saad Hatmi regaling in how he started the surrendered Gnat while S/L Sikand looked on jaw dropped and flew it to Sargodha. You never know

Maybe if you have any connections with the Bharti Vayusena and esp. No51 sqn, ask what
"Flow cold Nandoo, flow cold!" means.

 

[Lego20]

S/L Sikand on the other hand did not fight when challenged by the enemy. He just surrendered without a fight. He failed upwards it seems. Don't fret our side has cases like these as well so my comment was not even my Airforce is better than yours.

Did the 90,000 (or whatever no you agree with), fight when challenged? Surrender is akin to check-mate. It not always a dishonor - rather an impossible situation.

 

[cric_man]

Did the 90,000 (or whatever no you agree with), fight when challenged? Surrender is akin to check-mate. It not always a dishonor - rather an impossible situation.

Did they give up at the first sight of the enemy?

 

[street cricketer]

Oh no another essay (albeit short one)

I think you need to re-read my post. It was sarcastic yes but nothing to degrade G/C Abhinandhan. More a dig at IAF. The Group Captain was a true officer and a gentlemen on the fateful day and more importantly after going back to India. Not once has he taken to claim that he shot down a PAF F-16 as repeatedly claimed by all and sundry on the other side.
He went in when his better equipped comrades withdrew from the battlefield and paid the ultimate price. No dishonor in that. Similarly a certain F/L Pervez Qureshi Mehdi of the No14 sqn out of Dhaka was shot down by numerically superior adversary on the very first day and spent time as POW. He later on became CAS.
S/L Sikand on the other hand did not fight when challenged by the enemy. He just surrendered without a fight. He failed upwards it seems. Don't fret our side has cases like these as well so my comment was not even my Airforce is better than yours.

While mentioning Gen Goldfein, you forgot a certain Cdr McCain who was shot down over Vietnam and later on became senator from Arizona and almost US President? Or Capt O'Grady another F-16 pilot shotdown over Serbia who was recently elected to congress from Texas.

Buddy you have no idea what my background is. That was very presumptuous and condescending of you to lecture me about Pak Fiza'ya. Maybe a certain PQ was my neighbor while AOC Southern Command, maybe I grew up with a certain Air Cdre Saad Hatmi regaling in how he started the surrendered Gnat while S/L Sikand looked on jaw dropped and flew it to Sargodha. You never know

Maybe if you have any connections with the Bharti Vayusena and esp. No51 sqn, ask what
"Flow cold Nandoo, flow cold!" means.

My point was not to either belittle you or the PAF either. After the Abhinandan episode, what I have noticed is that a lot of people tend to think that once a fighter pilot is shot down by the enemy, that spells the end of his military aviation career because being brought down is the utmost disgrace a fighter pilot can endure. It's not ideal obviously but these cases are very common than people realise, particularly when there's a conflict or an air battle, one will invariably win and one will lose. American pilots with the most advanced stealth jets (for that era) have gotten shot down by SAMs over Serbia, so Abhinandan flying a Mig21 while going in with a complete communication blackout and getting shot down by a superior PAF F16 was no surprise.

I thought that was a great operation executed by the PAF, and it thankfully exposed a lot of operational weaknesses of the IAF. The PAF has generally had a qualitative edge over the IAF for a long time, and one of the main reasons is because of its alliance with the US. The PAF brought planes with the first air to air missiles to the subcontinent in Starfighters in the '65 war and even now, the PAF had a qualitative edge over the IAF with the F16s that have much longer sticks until the IAF acquired the Rafales. The flankers are great for a dogfight but dogfights are a thing of the past now and in BVR engagements, the Su30 will come up short because of the superior range of the AMRAAMs of the F16s. Abhinandan had next to no chance of shooting down the F16 while flying a Mig21 because that's what common sense tells us. If anything, I blame the IAF for sending pilots with inferior jets to ward off the invading PAF jets when you know that the Pakistanis would have the F16s waiting as cover.

Of course the IAF maintains that Abhinandan shot down the F16 because that's what militaries do, no military likes to admit defeat even if only for a particular battle, and would give out counternarratives and it's mainly for public consumption. People with common sense can separate the truth from the military narratives, but this is not unique to the IAF alone. You're saying S/L Sikand willingly surrendered his own plane when challenged by a PAF pilot, don't you think that's a little too hard to believe. No fighter pilot will ever willingly surrender his plane and more so, when the air encounter was taking place just over the Indo-Pak border, don't you think it would be much easier to escape to the Indian side than surrendering to the PAF if we're to believe the PAF narrative that Sikand had no will to fight. Just like the Indian propaganda of shooting down the F16s, it's the PAF propaganda of making an IAF pilot surrender his plane without a fight that would of course be lapped up by the public, but in reality, Sikand's plane malfunctioned massively and he had to land his plane somewhere immediately, and he landed in an air strip what he thought was a good landing strip. Little did he know that he had landed in Pakistan and he had the surprise of his life when he was greeted by a Pak military doctor who was on duty. Don't blame me for mistaking you as a lay person with regards to military affairs when you made a post ridiculing the IAF promoting its defeated pilots like every other common lay person would do.

 

[cric_man]

My point was not to either belittle you or the PAF either. After the Abhinandan episode, what I have noticed is that a lot of people tend to think that once a fighter pilot is shot down by the enemy, that spells the end of his military aviation career because being brought down is the utmost disgrace a fighter pilot can endure. It's not ideal obviously but these cases are very common than people realise, particularly when there's a conflict or an air battle, one will invariably win and one will lose. American pilots with the most advanced stealth jets (for that era) have gotten shot down by SAMs over Serbia, so Abhinandan flying a Mig21 while going in with a complete communication blackout and getting shot down by a superior PAF F16 was no surprise.

I thought that was a great operation executed by the PAF, and it thankfully exposed a lot of operational weaknesses of the IAF. The PAF has generally had a qualitative edge over the IAF for a long time, and one of the main reasons is because of its alliance with the US. The PAF brought planes with the first air to air missiles to the subcontinent in Starfighters in the '65 war and even now, the PAF had a qualitative edge over the IAF with the F16s that have much longer sticks until the IAF acquired the Rafales. The flankers are great for a dogfight but dogfights are a thing of the past now and in BVR engagements, the Su30 will come up short because of the superior range of the AMRAAMs of the F16s. Abhinandan had next to no chance of shooting down the F16 while flying a Mig21 because that's what common sense tells us. If anything, I blame the IAF for sending pilots with inferior jets to ward off the invading PAF jets when you know that the Pakistanis would have the F16s waiting as cover.

Of course the IAF maintains that Abhinandan shot down the F16 because that's what militaries do, no military likes to admit defeat even if only for a particular battle, and would give out counternarratives and it's mainly for public consumption. People with common sense can separate the truth from the military narratives, but this is not unique to the IAF alone. You're saying S/L Sikand willingly surrendered his own plane when challenged by a PAF pilot, don't you think that's a little too hard to believe. No fighter pilot will ever willingly surrender his plane and more so, when the air encounter was taking place just over the Indo-Pak border, don't you think it would be much easier to escape to the Indian side than surrendering to the PAF if we're to believe the PAF narrative that Sikand had no will to fight. Just like the Indian propaganda of shooting down the F16s, it's the PAF propaganda of making an IAF pilot surrender his plane without a fight that would of course be lapped up by the public, but in reality, Sikand's plane malfunctioned massively and he had to land his plane somewhere immediately, and he landed in an air strip what he thought was a good landing strip. Little did he know that he had landed in Pakistan and he had the surprise of his life when he was greeted by a Pak military doctor who was on duty. Don't blame me for mistaking you as a lay person with regards to military affairs when you made a post ridiculing the IAF promoting its defeated pilots like every other common lay person would do.

I guess we can keep going on it all day long

What kind of malfunction did S/L Sikand suffered? Was it structural? engine issues?
Because the aircraft was made miraculously functional and air worthy by PAF without any technical knowledge of a very fickle aircraft and flown to Sargodha on the same day. So let's leave it at that

Now since you had really nice things to say about the PAF, I will retract any ill/flippant/derogatory comment I have made about the IAF. I will even ignore the passive aggressive comment you made in your last sentence

Bharti Vayusena zindabad (or whatever the hindi equivalent, I don't want to trigeer the Sanghis as well by using an Urdu word) and may it be blessed with true fighting men like Air Marshal Sikand.

Parting gift. Here is another IAF fighter that was forced down by PAF on June 24, 1965. This is a Dassault Ouragan known as Toofani, flown by F/L Rana Lal Chand Sidda out of Jaisalmer. The F/L remained our guest till Aug 14, 1965.
OK this was me just trolling, you can post the photo of Gen Niazi signing the surrender or quote that 93000 figure




On a serious note, if you are interested read up Fiza'ya - Psyche of Pakistan Airforce by Late Pushpinder Sign (arguably the best Indian aviation write/historian/journalist) & Ravi Rakhiye

 

[Lego20]

Just like the Indian propaganda of shooting down the F16s

You are convinced that the IAF chief is lying and honors accorded are fake and cosmetic?

Look at the history of the last 73 years. All the narrative from Pakistanis side has been proven false and the one from India as factually correct be it Kargil war or Bangladesh war or terrorism narrative (which was earlier refuted but now excepted globally including by Pakistan themselves). Pakistan has not given an instance of trust worthiness for its existence to anyone including its biggest benefactors in America and Saudi Arabia. You would be ill advised to fall for their narrative.

 

[Lego20]

Did they give up at the first sight of the enemy?

Why would you think the Indian airman would do that? He would have rather not even taken off. Indian airmen have been nothing but brave to be willing to fight with comparatively dated and inferior equipment.

 

[street cricketer]

I guess we can keep going on it all day long

What kind of malfunction did S/L Sikand suffered? Was it structural? engine issues?
Because the aircraft was made miraculously functional and air worthy by PAF without any technical knowledge of a very fickle aircraft and flown to Sargodha on the same day. So let's leave it at that

Now since you had really nice things to say about the PAF, I will retract any ill/flippant/derogatory comment I have made about the IAF. I will even ignore the passive aggressive comment you made in your last sentence

Bharti Vayusena zindabad (or whatever the hindi equivalent, I don't want to trigeer the Sanghis as well by using an Urdu word) and may it be blessed with true fighting men like Air Marshal Sikand.

Parting gift. Here is another IAF fighter that was forced down by PAF on June 24, 1965. This is a Dassault Ouragan known as Toofani, flown by F/L Rana Lal Chand Sidda out of Jaisalmer. The F/L remained our guest till Aug 14, 1965.
OK this was me just trolling, you can post the photo of Gen Niazi signing the surrender or quote that 93000 figure

View attachment 112890


On a serious note, if you are interested read up Fiza'ya - Psyche of Pakistan Airforce by Late Pushpinder Sign (arguably the best Indian aviation write/historian/journalist) & Ravi Rakhiye

This is from a Pakistani source of the incident:

During interrogation Sikand claimed that almost all his systems failed soon after he was separated from his formation. Once he had lost visual contact with everyone, he tried to communicate on the radio, but found it dead. His guns too had jammed, fuel flow had become erratic; incredibly, his compass also went berserk and he lost his bearings.

And this quote is from your neighbour Air Cdre Saad Hatmi on the same incident:

I believe the IAF Pilot, Squadron Leader Brij Pal Singh Sikand nearly `passed out' when he realised that he had landed inside Pakistan

https://www.hilal.gov.pk/eng-article/detail/ODQ0.html

So I'm not making this up. But let's leave that.

Unfortunately I would not be of help to you in getting a hindi translation of your slogan because my hindi knowledge is a million times lesser than what your knowledge of hindi would be

But I have no reason to underrate PAF because it can be easy to get swayed by nationalism and believe that your army/airforce/navy is the best because they belong to your country when it's a lot more complex than that. You have to take into account the equipments available, the technology of the equipments available, force multipliers, economy of the country, ability of the country to initiate and sustain the war, etc. Anyway I will search for the book you posted online and will definitely have a read on it in in the future.

 

[daytrader]

WRECKAGE OF ABHINANDAN’S MIG-21 CATCHES THE EYE AT IDEAS-22

KARACHI: The tail section and other debris of the Indian MiG-21 fighter jet which was shot down by PAF pilots over Azad Jammu and Kashmir during February 27 stand-off in 2019 are displayed at International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS) 2022 in Karachi.

Pakistan had shot down two Indian fighter jets on February 27 that attempted to violate its airspace and captured an Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman who was released on March 1 as a “peace gesture”.

The wreckage of his MiG21 fighter jet, that was blown up by the PAF aircraft in a dogfight on February 27 has been put on display at the defense exhibition that began in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday.

IDEAS is a defence exhibition which brings together the defence industry’s players across the globe to showcase the latest technological innovations.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari inaugurated the 11th edition of the exhibition, which will continue till Friday.

Over 500 international defense manufacturers and over 260 delegates from 64 countries are taking part in the four-day defense exhibition, a leading defense expo in South Asia.

ARY

 

[MenInG]

Years after the Indian Air Force carried out a botched airstrike in Balakot on Feb 26, 2019, the humiliation at the hands of Pakistan Air Force still haunted the IAF, exposing Prime Minister Modi’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) hysteria driven war mongering policies before the world.

The airstrike deep inside Pakistan following a false flag operation at Pulwama on Feb 14, 2019, established the military and technological superiority of the Pakistan Air Force and shattered to pieces the myth of Indian military might.

On 14 February 2019, a young Kashmiri boy, resenting Indian oppression of the Kashmiri people, drove a vehicle packed with explosives into a convoy of 78 buses carrying Indian paramilitary police in Pulwama, killing 40 CRPF personnel.

Moments after the attack the Indian media and Modi’s government immediately blamed Pakistan before even the start of any investigation and created media hype.

According to defence analysts, India staged Pulwama incident by callously killing its own soldiers which was fanned by media hype.

The Indian Air Force launched an aerial strike near ‘Balakot’ On Feb 26, 2019, targeting a religious seminary that India described as a militant camp, and claimed killing more than 300 terrorists but without sharing any shred of evidence to corroborate the claims.

The well-rehearsed operation involving 20 Mirage 2000 aircrafts carrying Spice 2000 and Crystal Maze missiles had the support of Air Borne Early Warning systems.

They failed to deliver their payload on the target despite practicing on the simulator and pre-fed coordinates on the bombs.

Pulwama attack was completely orchestrated, the defence analysts said, questioning that contrary to the usual practice why there were no road inspecting parties to look for buried IEDs/ suspicious movement along the highway the convoy used?

“Why didn’t the authorities understand that a large convoy (78 buses) would be a tempting target? CRPF had asked the home ministry to allow it to fly the soldiers to Srinagar but why the request was inexplicably declined?

They further posed the question as to how it was possible that the Indian home ministry took this decision (declining airlifting soldiers) on its own without referring it to PM Office?

On other hand, PM Modi wanted to achieve electoral gains which were then scheduled for April/ May 2019 as was evident from his Pakistan bashing fiery speeches during the election campaign.

A hyper-nationalist and religiously indoctrinated political party that spewed fascism and xenophobia would take some ‘punitive’ measures and use the incident as an electoral card since Indian general elections were to be held on that year, the analysts added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Feb 15, 2019, was quoted by the Financial Times as saying that those responsible for Pulwama terror attack would pay “a very heavy price” and security forces would be given a free hand to deal with them.

In a hard-hitting speech, he said the “blood of the people is boiling” and forces behind the act of terrorism will be definitely be punished. “Security forces have been given complete freedom, the blood of the people is boiling… our neighbouring country, which has been isolated internationally, thinks such terror attacks can destabilise us, but their plans will not materialise,” Modi said in an attempt to create hype over the well-orchestrated plan against Pakistan.

Indian claims were rubbished by several international observers saying there were no casualties and the bombs had clearly missed the target, which in fact was not a terrorist camp, but an ordinary religious school, for the village children.

During the short aerial encounter that followed, PAF shot down two IAF aircraft and captured one of the pilots. The debris of the SU-30 fell in IIOJK and its pilot was killed, while the MiG-21 pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, whose aircraft fell on the Pakistan side was captured alive.

The success of the Pakistan Air Force in Operation Swift Retort against a far bigger adversary is now observed as a “Surprise Day” every year.

Express Tribune

 

[daytrader]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Today the nation pays rich tribute to PAF for a befitting response to the Indian violation of Pakistan's air space on the pretext of false flag Pulwama attack. While we aim for peace with all, we are mindful of our duty to defend the country. Let no one make any mistake about it.</p>— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) <a href="https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz/status/1630090995030188034?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>