When Pakistan considered F-16s as an alternative to nuclear missiles!
- Umar Farooq
- Defense analyst
June 28, 2022
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Retired Air Chief Marshal Muhammad Anwar Shamim of Pakistan had revealed in December 1985 that in 1984, Pakistani military planners had planned to attack the Bhabha Atomic Research Center at Trombay in India because the then Pakistanis The military ruler feared that India would attack Pakistan's Kahuta nuclear laboratory.
There were only a few people who had a real understanding of all aspects of this imaginary military scenario.
In his speech at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI) on the morning of December 16, 1985, the retired Air Chief Marshal indicated that the newly acquired F-16s were "Pakistan's nuclear option in addition to the atomic bomb."
Pakistan was still many years away from acquiring nuclear status and the memories of the military defeat at the hands of India were still fresh in the minds of Pakistan's defense planners.
General Zia-ul-Haq's military government promoted Air Chief Marshal Anwar Shamim to the highest office in 1978 (which he held until 1985). Air Chief Marshal Anwar Shamim not only oversaw the entire process of incorporation of F-16s into the Pakistan Air Force but also presided over the formal incorporation of these aircraft into the Pakistan Air Force in 1983.
Until his retirement, he was a close adviser to General Zia-ul-Haq on military and security issues. Therefore, immediately after his retirement in December 1985, he gave this speech at the Institute of Strategic Studies.
Among the participants was Dr. Robert Versing, an American professor who later wrote a book entitled 'Pakistan's Security Under Zia'.
Dr. Versingh later elaborated on the whole scenario when Air Chief Marshal Anwar Shamim revealed this at the ceremony.
The event was held on December 16, 1985 at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad under the theme 'Role of F-16 in Defense of Pakistan'.
This speech of Air Chief Marshal Anwar Shamim (then the leading English daily in Islamabad) was published in The Muslim, but Air Marshal Anwar Shamim did not mention in his speech that in case of Indian attack on Kahuta, Trombay The Indian government was informed by the then military government about the retaliatory attack on the Atomic Center.
Robert Versing quoted Air Marshal Shamim's speech as saying, "Shamim focused only on the Indian Air Force, clarifying the process of assessing the threat posed by the acquisition of the F-16."
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He made it clear that Pakistan insisted on acquiring the F-16 as compared to other aircraft because its capability to attack India was overwhelming. "Kahuta was seen very close to the Indian border and its protection is practically impossible," he said.
"India's ability to target sensitive nuclear facilities and penetrate the Indian defense system enabled Pakistan to respond in this way. The Pakistan Air Force could now target the Indian Bhabha Atomic Research Center in Trombay, which would be a catastrophe for India, and they (India) knew this. "Apart from the F-16 nuclear bomb, Pakistan has a nuclear option," he said.
Pakistan did not have nuclear weapons at the time, but its nuclear establishment was working on a nuclear program.
It took 25 years for Air Chief Marshal Anwar Shamim to explain what happened in 1984 and 1985 when the Pakistan Air Force acquired F-16s.
On May 28, 2010, he delivered another speech at a local hotel in Islamabad. Pakistan had warned India in the early 1980s that if India attacked Kahuta's nuclear assets, it would retaliate against the India Bhabha Atomic Research Center in Trombay.
According to Air Marshal (retd) Shamim, he was invited by then President General Zia-ul-Haq in 1979 to discuss nuclear assets in Kahuta. In his book, Cutting Age PAF, Anwar Shamim revealed that "General Zia had credible information that India was planning to attack and destroy Kahuta."
In the book, he wrote that he told General Zia that "the defense of Kahuta is impossible because it is a three-minute flight from the Indian border." We have eight minutes to respond and by the time the PAF planes reach the target, the enemy will have completed its task and returned safely within its borders.
General Zia asked how the most important weapon of national defense could be defended and the answer was to get state-of-the-art aircraft and sophisticated weapons and if India adhered to its policy, Pakistan Air Force would deploy Indian nuclear weapons in Trombay. It will blow up the place. '
"We will do them more harm than good."
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"I asked the President to acquire the multi-capable F-16 fighter jet with modern weapons that are best suited to the needs of the PAF," he said. In 1981, the US administration offered F-5s and later asked for help from F-5Js, but Pakistan refused to take any aircraft other than F-16s. The United States has finally recognized it.
In January 1983, Pakistan received the first batch of F-16s, on which it wrote a letter to the President regarding its responsibilities.
"I am now able to confirm that India will not attack Kahuta because it is now clear to them that if they do anything, we will attack their atomic station in Trombay," he wrote. And knowing that they will face far more destruction than us, so India will now refrain from any folly.
In his book, he wrote that he had written a letter to the then Secretary of Science and Technology, Munir Hussain, who was on his way to attend a global conference on nuclear energy.
"I wrote in the letter to inform my Indian counterpart of the consequences of the campaign to attack Pakistan's nuclear assets."
"When he spoke to his Indian counterpart, he replied, 'No, brother, we know your potential and we will never do such a mission.'
What role did F-16 actually play in Pakistan's defense policy?
Since the acquisition of the F-16 by the Pakistan Air Force, the two countries have not been embroiled in a dispute in which the two sides have used the air force extensively.
During the Kargil conflict, the Indian Air Force used a limited range of targets on the Indian side of the Line of Control.
The Pakistan Air Force was not fully operational during Kargil. The Pakistan Air Force shot down an Indian MiG during the Indian Air Force's attacks in Balakot in 2019, but to date it is suspected that F-16s were used in the operation. Pakistan denies while India wails that Pakistan used US-made F-16s in the operation.
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Pakistan's 85 F-16s are a source of national pride and a major cause for Pakistan's Air Force in the world's elite.
The program began in 1981 when the Soviet Union intervened in Afghanistan. The United States was in favor of selling F-16s to Pakistan so that they could be used against the Soviet Union and Afghan aircraft.
Soviet and Afghan planes crossed the border, respectively, targeting Mujahideen training camps. Between 1986 and 1990, Pakistani F-16s shot down at least 10 Afghan and Russian planes, helicopters and transport planes.
In 1990, the United States refused to supply 28 F-16s to Pakistan for which Pakistan had paid 65 658 million. Although the United States eventually returned the money, Islamabad began to view the United States with suspicion as a credible ally, raising concerns.
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In August 2020, the US Military News website ran a written commentary on two former employees of the US Embassy in Islamabad. The commentators were Aaron Stein and Robert Hamilton, who claimed that the US military had been monitoring the PAF since the sale of the F-16s.
After 9/11, the United States agreed to provide Pakistan with 18 state-of-the-art Block 52 F-16 aircraft at a cost of about ً 1.4 billion.
It also included targeting pods and electronic warfare pods. Also provide upgrade kits for 52 old model KF-16 aircraft of Pakistan. After receiving this equipment, the F-16s became the equivalent of the Block 52 type aircraft.
Former US diplomats wrote on the War on the Rock website that the US decision to provide F-16s with state-of-the-art aircraft and state-of-the-art combat equipment did not go unnoticed. When approval was given to provide the latest F-16s and upgrade older models, the United States also insisted on extraordinary oversight of the program. To protect the technology provided, Washington persuaded Islamabad that a US technical security team would visit Shahbaz and Mushaf air force bases. These were the places where the latest F-16 was to be kept.
Pakistan has a total of 85 F-16s out of which 66 are old 15 blocks and 19 are modern 52 blocks. The planes are overseen by the US Technical Security Team.
The former US diplomat wrote: "The team's mission is to ensure that the Pakistan Air Force is used for the purpose for which it was hired, without altering them or their weapons, and without any unauthorized use." It will not give technology to the parties.
The latter aspect is particularly important for Pakistan as the Pakistan Air Force also flies the JF-17 Thunder, which is a joint venture with China. The United States has said it is important that these aircraft be kept separate from other aircraft and confined to the area where they are parked
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