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ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Thursday celebrated Defense of Pakistan Day, marking the 1965 war it fought with India, with the bold claim that its air force is now superior to that of its giant neighbor.
Speaking on the anniversary of the war, one of the three in which the countries have squared off since independence in 1947, the head of the Pakistani Air Force (PAF), Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir, said, "We are establishing deterrence at all levels, and although the Americans are supplying weapons to India through proxy, as India is buying huge amounts of military weapons from Israel, we are still better than India.
"The PAF's modernization program has matured and it will be complete in a year or so, though the Indians will have to wait at least three to five years before they achieve the same effectiveness," Mir said.
Mir added that Islamabad would be able to build warplanes on its own at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra, near Islamabad, if it were expanded. In an interview with a panel of newspapers, Mir, however, said that the development would need capital investment, without elaborating. But it is understood that Pakistan is closely collaborating with Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf countries, as well as with China, in rebuilding the Kamra facility.
Pakistan also trains pilots, engineers and other air force personnel for other countries, and it has provided high profile military advisers to Syria and Saudi Arabia, including former dictator General Zia ul-Haq, who served as an adviser to the late King Hussein of Jordan in the 1970s.
A high-level Malaysian delegation is currently in Pakistan and the two sides have agreed to enhance their cooperation in defense-related fields, particularly in the joint production of equipment and systems. A cooperation agreement was signed in Rawalpindi on Tuesday at a meeting between Hashim Meon and Lieutenant-General Hamid Nawaz Khan, Pakistan's Secretary of Defense.
Pakistan's increased efforts to seek defense opportunities with Islamic countries follow the sanctions imposed by the West after both Pakistan and India exploded nuclear devices in 1998. The US has on several occasions accused China of providing missile technology to Pakistan.
The Chinese government has been quick to dismiss the accusations as "totally groundless". On Saturday, the US announced sanctions on the China Metallurgical Equipment Company after accusing it of exporting missile technology to Pakistan. A spokesman at the company also denied the US accusations. "It's a completely groundless accusation. Our company's business with Pakistan is limited to metallurgical equipment and mechanical and electrical products," he said. "It's all for civil use."
During the 17-day clash with India in 1965 the PAF performed with credit - in fact it was responsible for preventing the complete rout of the Pakistan army. At the time it had American-supplied fighter planes, which outclassed the mainly Soviet MiGs used by India.
Today, the PAF is in the process of modernizing with the purchase of 52 aircraft, weapons, high-level surveillance radar, and by replacing its aging transport aircraft. The latter mainly consist of C-130s, one of which mysteriously crashed in 1988, killing Zia and the US ambassador to Pakistan and some 30 other high-ranking military officers.
In addition to the 52 planes, 46 F-7-PGs have been bought from China to replace the aging American F-16 fighters. The F-16s are still the main strike aircraft although the US has frozen the supply of spare parts and new planes. The planes have been modernized with Italian-supplied radar systems. Just over 30 are currently in use.
Efforts are continuing to buy French Mirage jets. "We have selected the Mirage 2000-5 as our next high-tech fighter, but prevailing economic constraints and the political situation remain major hindrances," Mir said.
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, Pakistan has altogether 430 combat aircraft. India has 415 MiG and Jaguar attack aircraft and 420 MiG and Mirage fighter aircraft. In addition, it has 154 combat capable (conversion) trainers.
According to reports from Moscow, Russia has cleared the way for the launching of Pakistan's Badr B mini-satellite package with two Russian and a joint German-Moroccan satellite. The Russian daily Vermya Novostyei said preparations were nearing completion for the launch of the Badr-B abroad the Zenit booster.
According to the daily, Pakistan has offered US$130 million to Russia for it to develop and launch a spy satellite to keep an eye on India and other neighboring countries. It said Pakistan is exploring the possibility of placing orders with the Russian space industry for developing and launching a remote sensing satellite with high resolution cameras.
Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif signed an $800,000 deal to launch a mini-satellite with Russia in the 1990s, but it never materialized.
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