Pakistan military chiefs (and their immediate juniors) have been milking the system in Pakistan since 1947. Nepotism is rampant in Pakistan, just like anywhere else in the world. The most surefire way to live a life of uber luxury (combined with public respect) in Pakistan, is to become an officer in the Pakistan Army (or her sister services). If one sees the quality of life and the five star infrastructure/amenities Pak military officers get or shamelessly acquire, one will be quite shocked. Pak military officers are only lower in reverence and stature to Allah himself. Even the Quaid-E-Azam does not enjoy the level of respect that senior Pak military officers get. But that reverence/respect got a severe beating and a permanent dent, over the recent riots in Pakistan in relation to Imran Khan's imprisonment.MeshaVishwas wrote: ↑21 Nov 2023 06:30 The crass way in which this piece/rant is written, the name of the blogspot leads me to guess that the author is none other than the war wounded (in the testicular area) Retd Major Adil Raza, DHA (Discharged with Echandee).
Yenjaay
What is surprising that these allegations are now being made public, albeit by this blog (started this month) under a pseudonym i.e. Khamosh Mujahid. One (possible) inference that can be made is that the usual bottom feeders in the system did not get their usual cut and thus decided to go public. Otherwise why upset the apple cart?
One allegation in the blog is indeed true ---> Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar does indeed have low flying hours* under his belt. He was appointed by former PM Imran Khan to succeed Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan. The rumour mill was that Babar was the compromise candidate, as there was a tussle for the post of Air Chief between Air Marshal Haseeb Paracha (who retired in 2023) and another Air Marshal whose name I cannot remember. The chickens have come home to roost for Im the Dim, the Pakistan Air Force and the nation at large
*Low flying hours is not endemic to just one individual in the PAF. Setting aside their propaganda and bluster, Pakistani pilots fly lower hours than many of their neighboring countries. There is just not enough money in the budget to splurge on aircraft, fuel, spares, maintenance, etc. This is really evident in their F-16 fleet, which were being preciously preserved (post the Pressler Amendment) for conflicts. The situation became so precarious, that their F-16 fleet availability was very low and in Kargil, their then Air Chief had raised concerns as to how much longer their F-16s could continue to provide CAP against the IAF, without eating into war reserves. Even their latest model F-16C/D Block 50/52s (18 airframes) fly sparingly, primarily to preserve airframe life and to cut down eating into valuable spares. Thus many of their Viper drivers get their precious flying hours on other platforms i.e. JF-17, J-10CE, etc.
Apart from their ballistic missiles, Pakistan's F-16 fleet is their prime nuclear bomb carrier. Thus their F-16 fleet is *VERY* precious.
But this lack of operational flying on the platform was amply proven in Operation Swift Retort, when they could not shoot down Avenger 1 or 2 (the pair of Su-30MKIs), despite firing multiple AMRAAMs at them. And this despite the AMRAAM having the edge over the older model R-27s and R-77s. But then again - unbeknownst to the PAF at that time - Avenger 1 and 2 were from the IAF's premier EW unit i.e. No 15 Flying Lances.
No 15's exploits are legendary