Scene 1: The Split Sky
Location: PAF Air Headquarters, Chaklala – December 3, 1971
Sirens blared across the base. The message was clear: War had begun.
Air Marshal Rahim Khan, Chief of Air Staff, stood in the operations room, his eyes fixed on the large map of both East and West Pakistan.
Air Marshal Rahim:
"India has launched full-scale attacks. Their first strikes hit our radar sites. We retaliate immediately. Deploy across sectors."
He turned to his senior staff.
Rahim:
"In the West, we defend with teeth. In the East… we endure."
The bitter truth was clear: East Pakistan had been isolated. With only a handful of aging F-86 Sabres and one PAF base in Dhaka, their capacity was symbolic. In contrast, the Western front would become the true crucible of the PAF's mettle.
---
Scene 2: Dogfight Over Sargodha
Location: Sargodha Air Base – December 5, 1971
Squadron Leader M. M. Alam, legend of the 1965 war, now led a small defensive wing. His aircraft—a well-worn F-86 Sabre—waited, armed and gleaming.
Wingman (Flight Lt. Tariq):
"Sir, Indian MiGs coming in from Pathankot. Altitude 15,000 feet. Radar confirms six inbound."
Alam (grinning):
"Six? Just enough to warm up."
The roar of engines filled the runway. Alam took off like a falcon in full flight, banking hard toward the incoming formation.
Alam (radio):
"This is Falcon-1, I have visual. Engaging."
His Sabre spiraled upward, locking onto the tail of the lead MiG. In seconds, he released a burst.
BOOM! One Indian MiG burst into flames.
Alam (calmly):
"One down. Moving to next."
In mere minutes, he downed two more—displaying the same precision that had made him famous for shooting down five Indian aircraft in under a minute in 1965.
Ground Control:
"Falcon-1, status?"
Alam:
"Still dancing. Tell the ground crew to keep my tea warm."
---
Scene 3: Guardians of the Sky
Location: PAF Base Rafiqui – December 6, 1971
Flight Lieutenant Cecil Chaudhry, a decorated war hero, adjusted his flight helmet as his Mirage III rolled to the runway.
Squadron Commander:
"Cecil, intercept reports of Canberras moving over Multan sector. They're bombing our rail network."
Cecil (nodding):
"Understood. Scrambling now."
The Mirage sliced into the morning sky. As the radar beep intensified, Cecil spotted the silhouette of a Canberra bomber.
Cecil (radio):
"Target acquired. Engaging."
With surgical precision, he fired two Sidewinders.
BOOM! The bomber exploded midair, breaking into two blazing fragments.
Flight Controller:
"Direct hit. Repeat—direct hit."
Cecil (smiling):
"Multan can sleep peacefully tonight."
Over the next days, Cecil flew multiple sorties, earning a fearsome reputation for his aggression and skill.
---
Scene 4: The Forgotten Front
Location: Tejgaon Air Base, Dhaka – December 7, 1971
The Eastern wing was a tragedy waiting to unfold. Surrounded by the Indian Air Force and cut off from reinforcements, the base at Dhaka had only a small fleet of F-86 Sabres and a handful of C-130s.
Wing Commander Afzal Chaudhry, commander at Tejgaon, met with his weary squadron.
Afzal:
"We may not survive this week. But each flight, each sortie counts."
Flight Officer Haroon:
"Sir, our radar's failing. We can't see the MiGs until they're right on top."
Afzal:
"Then shoot from the gut."
That evening, as IAF Gnats and Hunters attacked Dhaka airport, the remaining Sabres scrambled, dodging flak and chasing ghosts.
Haroon (radio):
"Multiple bandits. I'm hit—losing altitude!"
His aircraft crashed into a rice field near Comilla. Others followed.
By the end of the day, Tejgaon's tarmac was a graveyard of twisted fuselages. The East had lost its eyes.
---
Scene 5: Against the Odds
Location: Jacobabad Sector – December 9, 1971
Indian aircraft attacked Pakistan's oil depots and communication posts. In retaliation, PAF launched a daring mission to strike Indian positions at Jaisalmer.
Flight Lieutenant Shabbir Ahmed, young and determined, led the mission.
Shabbir (radio):
"Jaisalmer radar in sight. Confirm bombing run. Target: ammo dump."
As Indian anti-air guns blazed from below, Shabbir dropped low, hugging the desert terrain.
Co-pilot:
"Sir, flak heavy on left!"
Shabbir:
"Hold tight!"
He released his payload. The explosions rocked the Indian post. Two ammunition trucks erupted into fireballs.
Shabbir (radio):
"Target destroyed. Returning to base."
Back at Jacobabad, cheers erupted as the pilots landed safely.
---
Scene 6: A Price Paid in Blood
Location: PAF Base Risalpur – December 10, 1971
A list of fallen pilots was pinned to the wall.
Flight Officer Samina, a ground controller, read through the names.
Samina (whispering):
"Noor, Haroon, Jamil... all gone."
She looked up as Group Captain Sarfraz Rafiqui's portrait watched silently from the hallway—a hero from 1965, gone but still remembered.
Losses mounted. Jets were lost in dogfights. Airfields were cratered. But even then, PAF pilots continued to take off—into fire, into death.
---
Scene 7: An Airman's Letter
Location: A Small Home in Rawalpindi – December 11, 1971
Mrs. Farzana Alam opened a letter from her brother, Flight Officer Saleem, stationed at Masroor.
> "Dearest Apa,
I don't know if this will reach you before or after the fighting ends. We are short on everything—fuel, parts, even sleep. But when I sit in the cockpit, I forget the world. I fly because our children deserve peace. If I don't return, tell Ammi I saw the stars one last time.
Your brother, Saleem."
That same night, his jet went missing over Rajasthan. The family never received his body.
---
Scene 8: The Final Sorties
Location: Western Sector, Near Lahore – December 14, 1971
Indian jets attempted a last-ditch assault on Lahore's outer defenses. PAF launched intercept missions.
Flight Lieutenant Khalid Mehmood, barely 24, took off with three other jets.
Khalid (radio):
"Visual on two Sukhois. Engaging."
He fired, hitting one tail-on. The enemy spiraled down in flames. But a second MiG fired back, hitting Khalid's aircraft.
Khalid (radio):
"Engine's failing… ejecting!"
A plume of smoke marked the horizon. He parachuted into a sugarcane field—wounded but alive.
That evening, he was pulled out by villagers and carried on a cot back to safety.
---
Scene 9: A Salute Across Borders
Location: UN Military Observer Group, Geneva – December 16, 1971
As the war approached its tragic finale in the East, military attachés from across the world reviewed war footage.
An American advisor turned to his Soviet counterpart.
US Officer:
"Pakistan's airmen fought like devils. Numbers weren't on their side."
Soviet Officer:
"True. But courage isn't measured in squadrons."
The footage paused on a frame: M. M. Alam's Sabre banking mid-air with flares bursting behind him.
---
Closing Scene: The Sky Remembers
Location: PAF Museum, Karachi – Present Day
Children walk past restored F-86 Sabres and a Mirage III. A recording plays in the background:
> "In 1971, when the sky burned, these men rose.
They were few.
They were brave.
They did not fear the fire."
A little boy stops at the photo of M. M. Alam and asks his father, "Baba, was he real?"
The father nods.
Father:
"He was lightning in the sky."
---
End of Chapter