Our Air Chief Nur Khan took part in air war against India and lead many air assault missions.
During 1964–65, the
Air Staff had been fighting with the
Cabinet over the rearmament and contingency plans with the
Ministry of Defence (MoD) and
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) as the Air Staff wanted coordinated efforts if there was a retaliation.:125–127
[15] The outgoing Air Marshal Asghar Khan handed over the
ceremonial baton to Air Marshal Nur Khan and did not
briefed him about the
impending operations in
Indian administered Kashmir since the latter was not aware of it himself.
[16] However, there were suspicions regarding the secret operations undertaken by the army in the
Air AHQ due to subsequent
skirmishes in the
eastern border.
[16] Therefore, Nur Khan called then-
Army Commander in Chief General
Musa Khan who admitted that "something was afoot." However, General Musa Khan assured Air Marshal Nur Khan of
Indian not retaliating despite Nur Khan's strong reaction.
[16] Very few details of plan were emerged to both Nur Khan and
Navy Commander in Chief Vice Admiral
Afzal Rahman Khanand briefly wrote: "
Rumours about an impending operation were rife but the army had not shared the plans with other forces."
[16]
During the
war with
India in 1965, Nur Khan became a national fame and hero when he maintained an aerial supremacy against
Indian IAF despite its shortcomings.
[17] He led the bombing missions during the war using the
C-130 Hercules for that purpose in support to the army advances.
[18] His actions of valor and efforts won him the praise in all over the country after the war; he was credited with turning the tide of the war in his country's favor that gained air superiority in the first 24 hours.
[3][19]
After the war, he was publicly honored and was famed figure in the country. In 1967, Nur Khan volunteered to serve in the allegiance of Arab countries' Air Forces against Israel during the Six-Day War.[20] He served in many aerial missions and witnessed the dogfight with Israeli IAF whose pilots noted his aerial skills during the conflict.[20] In fact, the Israeli IAF's fighter pilot, Major-General Ezer Weizman, the former Israeli President (1993–2000) and Defence Minister (1977–80), wrote in his autobiography that: "He was a formidable fellow and I was glad that he was Pakistani and not an Egyptian".[20][21]
After the Six-Day conflict, Nur Khan returned to Pakistan to complete his tenure as Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Air Force under President Ayub Khan and retired in 1969.
@Khafee
