6th September is a remarkable day in the history of Pakistan. Since the creation of Pakistan first time we had faced a war. Since April 1965clashes were going on on our eastern border and in the early hours of 6th September India had declared war against us. September 1965 war was the first big challenge for the survival of Pakistan. This war continued for 16 days and on 22nd September ceasefire ended this war. In those 16 days our armed forces wrote golden history of courage, valour and patriotism through their blood. Since then September 6 is celebrated throughout Pakistan as the Defence Day of Pakistan to commemorate the country’s remarkable achievement against a numerically superior enemy. Today we salute and pay homage to our martyrs and Ghazis whose sacrifices and skill of warfare felt us feel proud and we enjoy our dependence.
On the land India had targeted two areas : Lahore and Sialkot.
India had a plan of capturing Lahore through Wagha border which was only 27 kms from Lahore. They were so much sure that fake news of getting the control of Lahore was fed in international media. Indian Army Commander, General J. N. Chaudhuri had bragged that they would hold Bara Khana (feast for troops) in Shalimar Gardens and grand dinner with his officers at Lahore Gymkhana on September 6, 1965. But our soldiers became a solid wall of molten lead and did not allow 11 division of Indian army to cross the BRB canal. Here Major Raja Aziz Bhatti with his gallantry and leadership skill destroyed the nefarious design of the enemy and became a national hero, on 10th September he embraced martyrdom while leading his troops from the front. For his remarkable bravery, leadership performance and effective warfare planning he was awarded the highest military award of Nishan e Haider. In our military history he is an eternal role model for all the young officers. “Sila e Shaheed kia hey tab o tab e javedana”.
On the Sialkot sector in Chumb and Jorian the largest battle of tanks after the Second World War was fought. Here under the command of Major General Akhtar Hussain Malik our forces made this sector the grave yard of Indian tanks.
Air War
In air war Pakistan Air Force demonstrated it superiority over India Air Force. On 7th September Squadron Leader M. M. Alam in one combat shot 5 Indian plane. Pakistani pilots Sarfaraz Rafiqui, Cesil Choudhary, Imtiaz Bhatti, Shabbir Hussain, M. Younasand Anwar Shamim attacked on air bases of Pathankot, Jamshed Nagar, Halwara, Jam Nagar and destroyed them. To commemorate these achievements every year on 7th September Air Force Day is celebrated.
Naval War
In this war the main role assigned to Pakistan navy was defending our sea frontiers and keep sea lines of communication open. PN had a cruiser, a submarine and 7 destroyers (DDs)/ frigates (FFs), whereas India had an Aircraft carrier, two cruisers, and 19 DDs/ FFs. Indian Navy (IN) had considerable numerical superiority.
On the early hours of 8th September a fleet of 7 ships of Pakistan Navy attacked Indian port Dwarka in an operation code name “Somnath”. The city of Dwarka was completely blacked out. Bombardment was started about 30 minutes past midnight and completed in five minutes. PNS Badar, PNS Babar, PNS Jehangir, PNS Shahjahan, PNS Alamgir, PNS Khyber and PNS Tipu Sultan 7s ship fired 50 rounds each. The Task Group safely arrived on its patrol station at 0630 on 8 Sep after successfully completing the mission. To commemorate this achievement on 8th September Naval Day is celebrated in all the establishments of Pakistan Navy. This attack of Pakistan Navy had taken the enemy by surprise and cause severe blow to their morale. During the war Indian Navy ships did not dare to enter into Pakistani water. This operation Somnath was led by Commodore S. M. Anwar.
On 22 Sep Pakistan Navy submarine Ghazi managed to get an Indian Navy frigate as its target. The commanding officer, commander Kramat Rahman Niazi (retired as CNS) and second in command Lt Commander Ahmad Tasnim (retired as Vice Admiral) got gallantry awards Sitara e Jurrat (SJ).
In this war Pakistan Navy dominated the Indian Navy which was about 5 times more in strength.
Successfully defending our motherland from bigger enemy was a great victory which infused a sense of unity and spirit of patriotism among the Nation. Every year Defence of Pakistan Day is celebrated to apprise the younger generation about the commitment and sacrifices of our armed forces for the defence of our motherland and revive the spirit of patriotism and unity.
The Writer is Sr. Associate Professor Bahria University
