PAF JF-17 with its weapons load. (Photo : PAF)
Pakistan called on its air force to deliver a very noisy and very public show of power to remind neighboring India it is and remains a nuclear state not to be trifled with.
American-made F-16 fighter jets and the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder multi-role fighters of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) took to the air over Islamabad and Peshawar with some of these jets landing on a highway that was also built to handle take-offs and landings of PAF aircraft.
PAF has two dedicated squadrons (No. 16 Black Panthers and the No. 26 Black Spiders), each operating 18 JF-17s capable of launching nuclear weapons at India.
PAF senior officers, however, denied the show of force was directed at India and instead said the air spectacle, especially the sight of fighters landing on a highway between Islamabad and Lahore, was part of a routine air defense exercise code named "High Mark" last conducted in 2010.
One official explained that Pakistan's new wide highways were also built so planes, both civilian and military, can land there in emergencies.
"It doesn't mean we are going to war. We are just exercising to check and increase our capacity," said the unnamed official.
Shahid Latif, a former PAF deputy chief, said it was important to remind India of Pakistan's military and nuclear strength as a deterrent to any impulsive act. He said PAF has upgraded to the F-16 and JF-17.
"India is very frustrated and it could do something rash, such as launching surgical strikes," he said.
"Our forces are well prepared to counter any Indian attack. Our air force is doing the exercises and the motorway is also being used for that."
If India attacks, "our military command knows what it has to do," that perhaps hints at a nuclear option.
The very public display of power by the PAF comes immediately after a showdown at the United Nations General Assembly between Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Eenam Gambhir, the First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN.
Sharif on Sept.21 at the 71st UN General Assembly demanded an independent probe into what he called "the extra-judicial killings" and "atrocities" in Kashmir committed by India and to punish those responsible.
He also said India has attached pre-conditions for peace talks around Kashmir. But more infuriating for India was his statement was his praise for Burhan Wani, a Hizbul Mujahideen commander killed by Indian troops and whose death triggered the current spasm of violence wracking Indian-administered Kashmir. Over 80 civilians have died in the ensuing violence.
The attack this week on an Indian Army base at Uri in Kashmir by four mujahideen that killed 18 Indian soldiers was seen as revenge for the death of Wani. India blamed Pakistan as masterminding this attack.
Gambhir dismissed Sharif's speech as "hypocritical sermons."
"What India sees in Pakistan is a terrorist state, which channelizes billions of dollars, much of it diverted from international aid, to training, financing and supporting terrorist groups as militant proxies against it neighbors," she said.
Gambhir also blamed Pakistan for plotting the Uri assault that killed 18 soldiers and took Sharif to task for supporting "a self-acknowledged commander of a known terrorist organization Hizbul Mujahideen."
