Nation celebrates 'Surprise Day' today as tribute to PAF's retaliatory attack against India
By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 06 Jan 2023
ISLAMABAD: The nation is celebrating Surprise Day today (Saturday) to pay tribute to Pakistan Air Force (PAF) for downing an Indian fighter jet piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan Vardaman in 2019.
On February 27, 2019, the PAF carried out Operation Swift Retort and shot down two Indian Air Force fighter aircraft, and dropped bombs within the compounds of Indian military facilities in occupied Kashmir as a warning to the country’s belligerent neighbor.
The Pakistani military had lived up to its promise to ‘surprise’ India in wake of any misadventure, saying that ‘uncalled-for aggression’ from the Indian military ‘would not go unpunished.
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The operation also resulted in the capture of an Indian pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, after his Mig-21 was shot down. The pilot was later handed over to Indian authorities as ‘a goodwill gesture’.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on the occasion of the second anniversary of Operation Swift Retort will celebrate February 27 as Surprise Day to pay tribute to valiant Shaheens’ for their brave defense of the motherland while retaliating to the Indian Air Force violation of its sovereign territories on February 27, 2019.
The celebration ceremony of Surprise Day will be held here at PAF Headquarters and to be telecasted live across all media channels.
The Operation Swift Retort was a rapid response to the Indian Air Force strike in Balakot obliterating Pakistan’s airspace that had merely harmed a few trees and a wild crow.
The PAF giving a resounding response had carried out airstrikes at six multiple locations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and engaged its counterpart in a dogfight whereas it was the first-ever incident after 1971 when both the rival forces had attacked each others’ territory.
The PAF had shot down two Indian fighter jets namely MiG-21 and Su-30 where the former’s pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was caught by the Pakistan Army after his safe ejection and falling into the Pakistani side of the line of control (LoC).
The Indian Air Force Wing Commander was soundly beaten up by a mob of local people where the Pakistan Army troops rescued him and were later handed over to India as a peace gesture.
The PAF Shaheens proved their mettle and dominance in the air warfare domain and made the self-bragging Indian Air Force realize the consequences of daring to enter Pakistan’s airspace.
