Flight Lieutenant Khalid Mehmood's third and PAF's last confirmed victory came during the course of a CAP mission near Kohat. On September 12, 1988, Flight Lieutenant Khalid Mahmood, leading a formation of two F-16s, intercepted a formation of six Mig-23s intruding from Afghanistan. In a quick action he shot down two Mig-23 aircraft and later, on November 3, the same year, he challenged a formation of three Afghan SU-22s near Kohat, and after a short dogfight shot down one of the planes.
The wreckage of the Afghan Su-22 fell near Thal on the bank of river Kurram. The entire incident was observed from the ground by personnel of the Pakistan Army and some locals. This is the eighth of the 10 documentaries that I plan to share on the ‘undeclared secret war’ that Pakistan Air Force fought for a decade. Next documentary would be the last episode of this series planned to be shard after two weeks. This all took place in 80’s when in late December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. In the context of the Cold War, this move initially caused a considerable surprise and excitement in the West, as it was seen as an indirect threat for the situation in the Persian Gulf, especially after the US lost their most important ally in the area, the Shah of Iran, which was overthrown in February of the same year. Immediately afterward, however, except for diplomatic protests, no direct actions were undertaken by Western powers against the Soviet Union, and it was on the Afghan people to organize a resistance against the aggressor. Pakistan government decided to resist this occupation but that was not easy. While the acquisition of new aircraft was underway, the PAF and the Pakistani Army were already engaged organizing their positions along the Afghani border, which was a particularly problematic task, considering the rugged terrain and problematic movements of units and supplies. These 10 years of occupation of Soviet Union not only enabled PAF to prove to be a robust Air Force but Soviet Union ended up getting at least nine aircraft shot down during these ten years. This series is aimed at recording the valorous stories of the PAF for the world in general and Pakistani Nation in particular and also to pay tribute to those men and women in blue who confronted one of the super power of the time, fearlessly. These ‘kills’ would be shared periodically with a gap of two weeks. Happy Viewing
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8 сен 2024
