Being a student of military history, I have not come across any example, where a military doctor was involved in taking the surrender of a jet fighter and its pilot. It is an interesting story and a feather in the cap of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) that brought about this whole incident into effect, leading to the Indian Air Force (IAF) jet landing at Pasrur Airfield.
Upon arrival of the IAF jet at the Pasrur Airfield, an Army Doctor, who was in-charge of a field hospital, took surrender of the IAF Gnat and its pilot. He was commanding a Field Ambulance stationed near Pasrur in Sialkot Sector during the 1965 war. The unit was organised next to the landing strip at Pasrur, where he could take care of injured soldiers coming from the front lines. The airfield was used by the Army Aviation aircraft that flew in patients requiring emergency medical attention and also used for liaison and command missions.
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During the Indo-Pakistan War 1965, Indian Air Force (IAF) was more than six times larger in numbers and superior in quality of aircraft. To offset that disadvantage PAF had to have qualitative edge in skills in the art of warfare as well as ensure optimum utilisation of its handful of aircraft with that edge. The aircraft that gave PAF moral ascendancy was the F.104 Starfighter. PAF used this aircraft more for show of force or used these to provide cover for fighters and fighter-bomber missions in a CAP (Combat Air Patrol) role.
Whenever the IAF was faced with F-104, they either ran away or avoided coming into contact. At the same time, The F-104 Starfighters played a crucial role with the hand-counted dozen aircrafts held by PAF. The IAF had approximately 900 aircraft against PAF’s 150. To win the battle for air superiority against these odds was a daunting task. Had PAF not achieved air superiority, it would have to face the full might of the IAF, the consequences of which would have been disastrous. If the IAF had achieved air superiority, it would have lent full support for their ground forces too and that would have meant further disaster for Pakistan Army, which too was much smaller in numbers and inferior in equipment. It was therefore imperative that the PAF won and kept control of the air.
On September 3, 1965 a formation of IAF Gnats (Folland Gnat, which was nicknamed Sabre Slayer by the IAF) was monitored flying over Lahore. Soon a pair of F-104 was scrambled to get them. The F-104s did not stay in the fight for long, as the idea was to charge in at supersonic speed and try to overwhelm the IAF. This had a salutary effect, as the Gnats started dispersing and going away. Their Squadron Leader, Sikand, broke off too, but in an opposite direction, thus losing contact with his wingman as well as the rest of the formation. Sakesar control was monitoring the whole situation and keeping abreast of the situation. Flight Lieutenant (later Air Chief Marshal) Hakimullah was scrambled for reinforcement.
By the time he arrived, the Gnats had started a retreat and turned away. One Gnat, was seen behaving strangely; having gone back, it turned about and re-entered Pakistani airspace. Hakimullah, who was supersonic at this time, directed the errant intruder to land. Radars in Pakistan reported that the Indian jet had slowed down and appeared to be in a landing pattern. Hakimullah set up orbit over the area, while the forced landing was in progress. He finally picked the Indian Gnat taxiing down the disused Pasrur airstrip near Sialkot.
The Doctor Who Took the Surrender of IAF Pilot
When the Gnat landed at the Pasrur Airfield and the aircraft was identified as an IAF jet, Pakistan Army surrounded it and
the first person who went to arrest the IAF pilot was Lieutenant Colonel M.Y. Ghaznavi. He was a doctor officer commanding a Field Ambulance unit deployed around Pasrur Airfield. He achieved the rare honour of being the only doctor who took the surrender of a fighter aircraft and its pilot. After taking surrender of the IAF officer,
Col M.Y. Ghaznavi took him to his Field Ambulance Headquarters as his Prisoner of War.
While narrating the whole incident, he had reported, “After the IAF Gnat landed there were numerous air missions flown by the IAF, trying to locate the Gnat, which I got pulled back and camouflaged under the trees. During a strafing strike on my field ambulance, I nearly missed flying bullets and shrapnel of flying metal cut my uniform. My own tent was damaged and two of my men suffered injuries in the attack.”
When the two PAF pilots arrived at the Pasrur Airfield in a Howard, they were immediately taken to the hidden and camouflaged Gnat, which was pulled away from the runway and placed under cover of thick foliage, as the airfield was under constant attack by the IAF. After having shown the IAF jet to the PAF pilots, the IAF pilot was produced by Col Ghaznavi to the PAF pilots.
He introduced himself as Squadron Leader Brij Pal Sikand. Since arrival of the IAF Gnat and through all deliberations of PAF pilots with army authorities, the IAF Hunters kept flying low over Pasrur Airfield to locate their Gnat and pilot. After debriefing, the IAF Gnat was flown away by Flight Lieutenant Hatif, while Wing Commander Ayaz flew back the Howard.
I met Colonel Ghaznavi in my younger days as Commanding Officer of CMH (Combined Military Hospital) Sialkot after the Indo-Pak War 1965. He was feared yet highly respected medical officer, something very rare in those days. I remember even the two division commanders and the brigade commanders could not take him lightly or for granted. He did not let anyone overstep the line within his hospital – one of the finest administrators I have ever come across. He built that hospital into a fine organisation.
Major Yahya Ghaznavi, his youngest son and a retired Armoured Corps officer recalls the IAF Gnat incident,
“The day this incident took place, we the family members heard about the prized catch of an Indian plane and went over to the Pasrur Airfield to visit my dad’s unit and take a look at the Indian plane. I was probably in Class II, we were all very excited. I was expecting this plane to be big but I was a bit disappointed when I saw it. It was so well camouflaged that even when we were near, we could not find it until we were right next to it. The place was crowded as everyone wanted to take a look at this War Trophy.”
The Apprehension of Sikand
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. If there was any hope of making it back, the Starfighters snuffed it. Under the circumstances, the airstrip that he saw was a god sent, no matter that he stepped off his Gnat as a vanquished aviator.
After his repatriation, the IAF somehow took a light view of the incident and, Sikand resumed his career; he eventually rose to the rank of an Air Marshal.
Recovery of Sikand's Gnat
It was this red-letter day on which Flight Lieutenant Hakimullah forced an IAF Gnat to land on disused Pasrur Airfield. Soon after, when the jubilation was over in Sargodha, the Station Commander Mitty Masud was posed with a million dollar question. “Who will fly the coveted war trophy from Pasrur to Sargodha in the thick of battle?” Immediately, one name struck his mind… Flight Lieutenant Hatmi.
Hatmi himself in an interview, excerpts of which are placed below, has narrated rest of the interesting episode:
It was an exciting morning on the September 3, 1965 when the PAF Sabres had their first real aerial combat with the IAF Gnats. I was in the standby hut, awaiting my turn when we got the news that Flight Lieutenant Yusaf and Flying Officer Khaliq had engaged six Gnats. I did not hear the account of the fight until after my first mission of the day. However, the real news that got me jumping was that Flight Lieutenant Hakimullah had forced the Commanding Officer of an IAF Gnat Squadron to land in Pasrur, a disused airfield near Sialkot.
There was no way to confirm the news until the Station Commander, Group Captain M.Z. Masud called me to his Operations Tent and I was officially told to fly to Pasrur as soon as possible. I was to inspect the aircraft and assess the damage, if any, and to estimate ground equipment that may be required to fly it out of Pasrur. From the air, it looked like a big Mela at Pasrur Airfield as Wing Commander Ayaz and I arrived overhead. The IAF Gnat had been switched off at the end of the runway. There were people everywhere and more were coming; they came on foot, bicycles, “tangas”, horses, cars and buses; all to see the IAF fighter. We had to buzz the airfield many a time before the crowd gave us enough room to land. It was a touching scene as we parked next to the Gnat.
The crowd broke into wild clapping and greeted us with loud cheers of
"PAF Zindabad". The Gnat was being guarded by a detachment of Army Jawans. Some Pakistan Army officers met us as we came out of the aircraft. One of the officers gave us a brief account of the morning events. They were in their tented camp when they saw the aircraft, but were not quite sure of its identity until it came in to land. They rushed out to the airfield and got to the pilot as he was stepping down from the cockpit. (I believe the IAF Pilot, Squadron Leader Brij Pal Singh Sikand nearly `passed out' when he realised that he had landed inside Pakistan).
He was introduced to us as Squadron Leader Brij Pal, a Sikh Pilot. In the meanwhile, the Gnat and our Howard were refuelled. The Indian pilot said, “You intend to fly this aircraft, this runway is too short and I will have a bet with you that you will not be able to take off”. He was trying to frighten us because he was scared of the F104 and landed here. Hatmi said, “Sardar Ji, don’t worry I will take off”. Hatmi got into the aircraft and took off. Little did he know that Hatmi had flown this aircraft while he was on deputation with the Royal Air Force.
He also maintained that the Gnat was no ‘Sabre Slayer’ when it came to dog fighting.
After its brief service with the new air arm, Gnat IE1083 was consigned to the PAF Museum, where it continues to bemuse visitors with one of the bizarre episodes of the 1965 War.
The writer is a military historian and biographer.
http://hilal.gov.pk/index.php/layou...ho-took-surrender-of-the-indian-air-force-jet
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so proud of the chivalrous attitude PAF demonstrated.....great share as always Sarge
