In East Pakistan, the IAF attacked several abandoned airfields on the morning of 7 September, but failed to locate Dhaka. The counterattack on IAF Kalaikunda was launched by the PAF at 0635 hours. Led by Squadron Leader Shabbir H. Syed, 5 F-86s carried out three attacks each and destroyed 16 Canberras and Hunters lined up on the tarmac. Another 8 aircraft and several installations were damaged. This daring attack was followed by another 4 F-86 raid led by Flt Lt. Haleem. Only 1 Canberra was destroyed. With Kalaikunda air defences alerted, in the ensuing air battle, Flying Officer Afzal Khan was shot down by a Hunter. Afzal was also in the first mission. After the Kalaikunda destruction, the IAF was defeated and failed to appear over the East Pakistan skies. The book, The Story of the Pakistan Air Force, states that, "In West Pakistan, the PAF cut off the head of the Indian Air Force, and in their two sorties on 7 September 1965, the pilots of No. 14 Squadron did an equally good job with the tail". No wonder No. 14 Squadron, my old squadron (now equipped with F-16s) became famous as the "Tail Choppers". In 1965, the PAF completely outperformed the IAF. The IAF was defeated in all departments: man to man, machine to machine and mission to mission. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah's wish of PAF becoming "second to none" had come true.
