Pakistan to figure in Cold War museum
* US pilots son says Pakistan was very much involved in Cold War
WASHINGTON: Gary Powers Junior, son of the U-2 pilot who took off from Peshawar in 1960 on a spying mission and was shot down over the Soviet Union, is setting up a Cold War museum in the Northern Virginia town of Lorton.
He told Voice of Americas Akmal Aleemi in an interview that he would like to have a section on Pakistan and its role in the Cold War. He plans to get in touch with Pakistani authorities to explore what cooperation he could be given. He said Pakistan was a member of SEATO and very much involved in the Cold War. My father took off from Pakistan on May 1, 1960 on that historic though ill-fated flight, he said. Nikita Khruschev threatened to wipe Pakistan off the map, saying he had drawn a red circle around Peshawar. The United States used its base of Badaber near Peshawar to spy on the Soviet Union. After Powers was shot down and taken prisoner, the flights ceased. Badaber did not survive long either.
The Cold War museum, which is expected to be built in about 18 months time, is currently a roving exhibition which has been seen both in several American cities and many abroad.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
