Pakistani pilot writes after 46 years to daughter of Indian pilot he shot down

[+ghostrider883 526]

Nearly half-a-century after shooting down an Indian civil aircraft under orders during the 1965 war with India, a Pakistan Air Force pilot has sent a condolence message to the daughter of the pilot of the aircraft he downed.

 

Qais Hussain, a rookie Flying Officer during the 1965 war, made this moving and humane gesture via an e-mail, expressing his condolences and providing details of the circumstances under which he shot down the Indian aircraft.

 

The e-mail is addressed to Farida Singh, daughter of the Indian Air Force pilot Jahangir “Jangoo” Engineer, one of the three famous Engineer brothers in the Indian Air Force.

 

The e-mail, with the subject line “Condolence”, dated Fri, Aug 5, 2011, is copied to Naushad Patel and Jagan Pillarisetti, the Indian contacts who helped Mr Hussain to reach out to the bereaved family, something he had wanted to do for some time. Mr Hussain forwarded the e-mail to a group e-mail for Pakistan Air Force colleagues, saying, “Most of you would recall that I had shot down an Indian civil aircraft after being scrambled from Mauripur in

 

1965 War”. Referring to an April 2011 article by Air Cdre. Kaiser Tufail (“The Gujarat Beechcraft Incident - 1965 War”, http://bit.ly/qhltr65 ), which gives details of the incident, he says that it was Naveed Riaz, the Lahore-based businessman and aviation enthusiast who helped him get in touch with the Indian contacts through whom he then managed to reach Jahangir Engineer’s daughter.

 

“I had decided to write a note of condolence, which I was able to do today and it is attached in full here below for your information,” he writes to his PAF colleagues, copied to Naveed Riaz.

 

Reproduced below in full is his e-mail to Farida Singh: “Dear Mrs. Singh, “I am glad that by now we know about each other and it is no surprise that I am writing to you, thanks to Naushad Patel and Jagan Pillarisetti.

 

“The incident happened 46 years back but it is as fresh in my mind as if it had happened yesterday. The aircraft flown by your father had drifted off course by many a miles and in his search for the destination, he had been going up and down in the border area of Rann of Katchh for quite some time and it made our Radar Controllers uncomfortable.

 

I happened to be strapped up in my aircraft along with another pilot (my Leader) in his, on two minutes take-off alert. We were scrambled but I had to take off alone, and with the help from my radar controller, intercepted your father’s aircraft which was considered to be on a recce mission to open a new war front. I caught sight of him at 3000’ and made a pass so close that I could read his markings and the number of the aircraft.

 

Your father spotted my presence immediately and he started climbing and waggling his wings seeking mercy. “Instead of firing at him at first sight, I relayed to my controller that I had intercepted an eight seat transport aircraft (guessing by the four side windows) and wanted further instructions to deal with it.

 

At the same time, I was hoping that I would be called back without firing a shot. There was a lapse of 3 to 4 long minutes before I was given clear orders to shoot the aircraft. “After the shooting, I had a sense of achievement and satisfaction that I had completed my mission and destroyed any recce data that might have been collected to open a new war front. I landed back at Mauripur, Karachi with my fuel tanks bone dry and was greeted by my seniors and other squadron colleagues.

 

Later that evening, All India Radio announced the names of the occupants who had lost their lives in that aircraft. “The reason that I have been trying to get in touch with you since recently is an article by Air Cdre Kaiser Tufail in April 2011, in which he researched the whole incident and came out with his story by interviewing me, the radar controller (a Flying Officer) and his supervisor (a Wing Commander) who took the decision to order the shoot.

 

I have also read numerous versions that appeared in the Indian media at the time, said to be eyewitness accounts from peasants of Mithapur which are unfortunately based on hearsay. Even the findings of an Enquiry Committee constituted by the Indian Government are nowhere near to what actually happened.

 

I was alone at the site of incident while my Leader who took off finally about 6 to 7 minutes after me (due to change of aircraft and a new pilot), was perched at the border at 20,000’ acting as a relay station between me and the controller at Badin. I had lost contact somewhere while descending to 3,000’ and had we not had this aircraft at 20,000’ at the border, I would not have found your father’s aircraft and he would not have lost his life along with all the others.

 

Nonetheless, the unfortunate part in all this is that I had to execute the orders of my controller.“Mrs Singh, I have chosen to go into this detail to tell you that it all happened in the line of duty and it was not governed by the concept that ‘everything is fair in love and war’, the way it has been portrayed by the Indian media due to lack of information. I did not play foul and went by the rules of business but the unfortunate loss of precious lives, no matter how it happens, hurts each human and I am no exception. I feel sorry for you, your family and the other seven families who lost their dearest ones. I feel greatly grieved that you lost your brother Noshir recently.

 

If an opportunity ever arises that I could meet you face to face to condole the death of your father 46 years back I would grab it with both hands. I would highly appreciate if you please convey my feelings to the other members of your family, who were equally hurt by the untimely departure of Jungoo to the next world.“I hope and pray that you and your family stay well“My best regards…Qais”

 

The other side of the story:

The events that led to the death of Balwant Rai Mehta were witnessed by Wing Commander B.C. Roy (Retd.), the then commanding officer to the Indian Air Force Radar unit stationed at Bhuj, Gujarat during the Rann of Kutch operations, of the 1965 India-Pakistan war. Wing Commander Roy, after watching the NDTV programme 46 years after the war (http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/the-buck-stops-here/after-the-war-a-moment-of-humanity/207609), rubbished the sequence and circumstance in which the Pakistan Air Force pilot Flying officer Qais Hussein claimed that he was compelled to shoot down the BeechCraft aircraft that was ferrying Balwant Rai Mehta along with his wife and was being piloted by a famous ex-Indian Air Force pilot and war ace, Jehangir Engineer.

 

Quoting Wing Commander Roy verbatim, the following were the day's events which led to the death of Balwant Rai Mehta, his wife and the pilot Jehangir Engineer:

 

1. Beech-craft takes off from Tata Chemicals, Mithapur. It was being piloted by former ace Indian Airforce officer pilot Jehangir Engineer and on board was the then serving Chief Minister of Gujarat Balwant Rai Mehta along with his wife and journalists,on 19th September 1965.

 

2. The movement of the Chief Minister was well publicised in newspapers, including advertisements. The Pakistan knew of his movement all along.

 

3. Two Sabres from Pakistan chased the plane, twenty kilometers deep into Indian territory from international border and wanted to hijack this aircraft. They asked the plane to follow them to their airbase. The Pak Airforce knew all along that the Beechcraft was being flown by none other than the ace IAF pilot Jehangir Engineer, ferrying the then Gujarat Chief Minister and wife. The Pakistan wanted to take them along as their prisoner which would certainly have been a great prize catch indeed.

 

4. While being escorted Jehangir Engineer, whose younger brother Group Captain Ronnie Engineer was then the Station Commander of the Pune Airbase and another was Air Vice Marshal (famous Engineer brothers of IAF), could not let the Pak Air Force do this to them. He found a patch of land within Indian territory at Rann of Kutch. He ducked and wanted to force land the aircraft to save the Chief Minister from the two enemy Sabre jets.

 

5. The Sabres were totally merciless and pumped bullets, killing the pilot, the chief minister, his wife and other passengers on board, even though the pilot had waggled his wings, indicating it to be a civilian aircraft, thereby Pakistan Air Force violated an important international treaty, by shooting down a civilian aircraft killing unarmed innocent people, including a lady.

[Nesher 628]

I think the pilot was honest about the shooting and shows regret..

I can only guess how hard it is to confess on such a thing

 

 

 

I wonder about you're opinion ghost!

[B52STRATO 215]

Is this a topic about a veteran who wrote a letter to the family of the pilot he shot down or a display of personal opinion ?

[+ghostrider883 526]

I think the pilot was honest about the shooting and shows regret..

I can only guess how hard it is to confess on such a thing

 

 

 

I wonder about you're opinion ghost!

 

No doubt, it was a great gesture from the PAF pilot and it has been appreciated here. I guess he was doing his duty when he followed ordered to shoot down the civvie plane, he acknowledged the fact that the Beechcraft kept on rocking its wins to show that it was civilian and he wasn't happy to of having done what he did. But then, there is also the angle that they were waiting for the aircraft to show up and shoot it down.

I think its a complex issue and its best not to take sides on this issue. The actual truth, only the PAF pilot knows and the people who lost their lives when the Beechcraft went down.

 

An enquiry into the affair submitted the facts four months later. According to it, the IAF authorities at Bombay refused to let the aircraft go on the flight. When the Gujarat government pressed for clearance, the air force authorities, in an obvious attempt to get them off their backs, gave clearance for the pilot to proceed at his own risk.

 

J.M. Engineer was told of the clearance and took off for Mithapore. The PAF pilots firing on the aircraft was not the direct cause of the crash. Sure bullets were fired, and the aircraft was hit. It was deduced both from eyewitness accounts and by the enquiry that Engineer tried to force-land the aircraft. But either from uneven ground, or the presence of the Sabres, or the strain he was under, he lost control of the aircraft and he crashed. All the nine aboard died instantaneously.

 

Wreckage of the beechcraft that was hown down by PAF F-86s

[JediMaster 451]

Well, it's possible his superiors going up the chain knew about the plane, but I doubt he did. He was just another pilot given an unfortunate order.

 

Things like pursuing over a border or firing despite an attempt to land is all irrelevant because he was ordered to shoot it down. It's on his superiors' heads because they knew what the plane was doing (as relayed by the pilot) and, possibly, what the plane really was, and ordered it anyway.

 

Had the pilot been told to investigate an unknown contact and decided to shoot it down without asking for clarification and despite the actions of the other plane, then I would say it was on him.