PESHAWAR: The exhibition of Aviation Paintings and Aircraft Models organized by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) here Friday brought back memories of the 1965 war with India as some of the memorable encounters in the skies at the time were depicted in remarkable paintings made by a distinguished air force painter. The exhibition, the first of its kind in Peshawar, coincided with the 50th anniversary of the 1965 war and was staged at the Nishtar Hall Cultural Complex. Strict security arrangements were made on the occasion and the blockade of roads for traffic in the vicinity caused problems for the commuters. Uniformed PAF personnel, including women, were present in significant numbers at the venue. The paintings were made by Group Captain Masood Akhtar Hussaini, who was present at the exhibition and was profusely praised by the speakers. Apart from paintings of war scenes in the skies in the 1965 war, some depicted the events of the 1971 war against India. The deeds of some of the well-known PAF war heroes like M M Alam and Sarfaraz Rafiqui were glorified in the paintings. The aircraft models were made by Wing Commander Nadeem Ahmad. Air Commodore (Retd) Mir Alam Khan, who fought in the 1965 war and was awarded the gallantry award Sitara-i-Jurat was the chief guest on the occasion. After cutting the ribbon to inaugurate the exhibition, he took his time to look at every painting and aircraft model. In his speech, he said: “Today I relived the glorious moments of the 1965 war. Whenever my hosts tried to explain a painting to me, I told them that I know about the event being depicted as I was part of the war.” He said the nation needed to draw inspiration from the successes of that war. “The achievements made in the ongoing Zarb-e-Azb operation in the war against terrorism showed that our security forces are true custodian of our nation,” he added. The retired airman said the PAF would be forever ready to answer the call of duty. He said the national heroes in the 1965 and other wars made every Pakistani proud. Air Vice Marshal Farooq Habib, Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Training), in his welcome address said the exhibition is a pictorial depiction of the saga of courage and sacrifice of the PAF personnel. Talking about Peshawar being the venue of the exhibition, he said it housed one of the two oldest airbases in Pakistan. He recalled that PAF jetfighters had flown from Peshawar to carry out the airstrikes in 1965 to destroy India’s Pathankot airbase. In conclusion, Air Marshal Asad Abdur Rahman, Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Support) gave souvenirs to the chief guest and others. Air Vice Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar, Air Officer Commanding, Northern Air Command, presented the vote of thanks.
