Twilight over Halwara: Saga of courage and honour

Squadron Leader Sarfraz Rafiqui was commanding the elite No 5 Squadron during the 1965 Indo-Pak war. The squadron was equipped with Sabre F-86 aircraft and was stationed at PAF Base Sargodha. Two memorable aerial encounters, each a classic of modern jet warfare, capped Sarfraz Rafiqui's illustrious career as a fighter pilot. The evening of 1st September 1965 saw hectic and desperate attempts by the IAF to stop the rapid advance of Pak Army's 12 Division offensive against Akhnoor. Vampires, obsolescent but considered suitable for providing close support in the valleys of Kashmir, were hastily called into action. Four Vampires were sent to attack Pak Army in battle area and to their bad luck; SL Rafiqui and FL Imtiaz Bhatti were patrolling at 20,000 ft near Chamb.
On being vectored by the radar, they descended and picked up contact with two Vampires in the fading light. Rafiqui closed in rapidly and before another two Vampires turned in on the Sabres, made short work of the first with a blazing volley from the lethal 0.5" Browning six-shooter. Then, with a quick-witted defensive break he readjusted on the wing of Bhatti, who got busy with his quarry.
While Rafiqui cleared tails, Bhatti did an equally fast trigger job. One Vampire nosed over into the ground, which was not too far below; the other, smoking and badly damaged, ducked into the trees. It's shaken pilot, FO Sondhi staggered back to tell the horrifying tale. The less fortunate FL AK Bhagwagar, VM Joshi and S Bharadwaj went down with their ghoulish Vampires, in full view of the horrified Indian troops. Only minutes before, FO SV Pathak of another Vampire formation had bailed out after being hit by ground fire. The mauling had been thorough.
This single engagement resulted in a windfall of strategic dimensions for the PAF. The shocked and demoralised IAF immediately withdrew over 80 Vampires, together with about 50 Ouragons, from front-line service. The IAF was effectively reduced in combat strength by nearly 35% in one deadly stroke, thanks to Rafiqui and Bhatti's marksmanship. It may be appropriate to recollect the remarks of USAF Fighter Weapons School (Class of 1956) about Rafiqui's adeptness at gunnery. "Captain Rafiqui was the high individual in air-to-air firing and was above average in air-to-ground firing has a thorough understanding of methods and techniques used in fighter weapons delivery and aerial combat manoeuvring -- valuable as a future gunnery instructor -- highly recommended that he be used in this capacity to the greatest advantage possible when returning." The PAF made no mistake and put his skills to good use, as the Chamb encounter demonstrated. But there was more to come.
On the evening of 6th September 1965, an ill-fated formation of three aircraft took off from Sargodha for a raid on Halwara airfield, one of the three that had been singled out for a pre-emptive strike. Led by SL Rafiqui, with FL Cecil Chaudhry as No 2 and FL Yunus Hussain as No 3, the formation hurtled across into enemy territory in fast fading light. SL MM Alam's formation, also of three aircraft, which had taken-off ten minutes earlier, was returning after an abortive raid on Adampur. Four Hunters, themselves proceeding on a mission against Pak Army formations, had bounced them. Rafiqui was warned by Alam's section to watch out for Hunters in the area. At Halwara, IAF's No 7 Squadron equipped with Hunters had flown four strikes during the day. These were armed reconnaissance missions, which had had little success in finding worthwhile targets. The fourth and last strike for the day was on its way to the precincts of Lahore, when it had encountered Alam's formation near Tarn Taran.
In that engagement SL AK Rawlley's Hunter impacted the ground as he did a defensive break at very low level, with Alam firing at him from stern. The remaining three Hunters aborted the mission and were taxiing back after landing, when Rafiqui's formation pulled up for what was to be a gun attack on the parked aircraft. That evening, two pairs of Hunter CAPs (Combat Air Patrols) were airborne, one from No 7 Squadron with FO PS Pingale and FO AR Ghandhi and the other from No 27 Squadron with FL D N Rathore and FO VK Neb. Pingale and Ghandhi were in a left-hand orbit over the airfield when Rafiqui broke off his attack and closed in on the nearest aircraft (Pingale). Rafiqui's guns, as usual, found their mark. Pingale, not sure what hit him, lost control of his Hunter and ejected. Next, Rafiqui deftly manoeuvred behind Ghandhi and fired at him, registering some hits. Just then, Cecil heard his Squadron Commander call over the radio, "Cecil, my guns have stopped firing, you have the lead." With guns jammed, Rafiqui had all the reasons to exit the scene, however he decided not to leave his comrades in the thick of the battle and continued to clear the tails of Cecil and Yunus. Cecil promptly moved in to lead, with Rafiqui sliding back as wingman. Ghandhi did not let go of the momentary slack and manoeuvred behind Rafiqui who was readjusting in his new position.
Ghandhi fired at Rafiqui's Sabre, but couldn't get him because of a careless aim. While Ghandhi followed the Sabre, Cecil bored in and shot him in turn, the bullets finding their mark on the left wing. Ghandhi, seeing his aircraft came apart, ejected near the airfield. Running out of fuel as well as daylight, Rafiqui deemed it prudent to exit. Gathering his formation, he headed north-west, but with two more Hunters lurking around, a getaway wasn't easy. Happy on home ground, Rathore and Neb dived in to give chase. Rathore got behind Rafiqui who was on the right while Neb singled out Yunus on the left. Overtaking rapidly, Rathore fired from about 600 yards registering some hits. Closing in still further he fired again, this time mortally hitting Rafiqui's Sabre. The brave commander attained Shahadat for his beloved country and thus set high standards of leadership and courage.
Meanwhile, Cecil looked around and noticing Yunus in trouble called a defensive break but saw Yunus pulled upwards, assisting Neb to catch up. Neb did not let go of the chance and fired a well-aimed volley, which Yunus did not survive and attained Shahadat in the line of duty. Left alone, Cecil bravely fought his way out and dashed across after a nerve-racking encounter.
In this epic encounter, Rafiqui was at his leadership best. Of course he had scored a confirmed kill a third time. But more important, the significance of the mission was not lost on him and, despite heavy odds, he did his best to get the formation to put in the attack. As a Squadron Commander, he demonstrably inspired other squadron commanders and pilots to lead fearlessly. This may well have been Rafiqui's greatest contribution to the 1965 air war. The award of the Hilal-i-Jurat, as well as a Sitara-i-Jurat acknowledged his gallant leadership and selfless devotion to duty.
PAF Base, Rafiqui (Shorkot) and major boulevards across various cities of Pakistan, named after him, rekindles the spirit of his chivalry. Sarfaraz Rafiqui Welfare Trust, based on 77 acres of prime agricultural land in Faisalabad Division, continues to benefit the poor and the needy. The land, given by the government of Pakistan as recompense with the awards of HJ&SJ, was most generously bequeathed by Sarfraz's parents for the Trust, which is administered by the PAF.