The Air Force has concentrated on giving support to our ground troops and is also causing maximum damage to those airfields in West Pakistan from which attacks have been mounted on our territory. In air attacks, our Air Force in the last two days set fire to a train carrying to the front 23 Patton tanks, causing considerable damage, and destroyed another ten tanks in other sectors. All the strikes by the Air Force, coupled with the Army’s own record of knocking out Pakistani tanks have amounted to a heavy toll of the enemy’s armour strength.
In the air - raids on Sargodha and other airfields, our aircraft have mounted repeated sorties which have caused damage to enemy aircraft on the ground, to his installations and runways. There have been no particular battles. We, however, lost one Hunter aircraft by ground fire and one Mystere which was damaged and had to force land in our territory. Pakistan has been mounting attacks on our airfields, particularly Halwara, Adampur and Pathankot. These have not been able to do any great damage. One Pakistani F - 86 aircraft was shot down over Jammu by our ground fire and similarly one Pakistani B - 57 bomber has been shot down over Amritsar.
The enlargement of the conflict has not been of our seeking. Militarily, we had to take effective steps to stop Pakistani aggression in Chhamb which was launched with heavy armour and air support at the far end of our long line of communication. We had to draw out the Pakistani forces elsewhere to release the pressure in the Chhamb - Jaurian sector. Also there were concentrations of troops on the Sialkot and Lahore fronts, which could have taken in the rear our troops, engaged in Chhamb. We, therefore, meant to engage the Pakistani forces from wherever they were threatening a thrust on us. The heavy battles that have since been fought in the Sialkot and Lahore sectors corroborates the need for this. In engagements of this kind of heavy fighting, some ups and downs are to be expected. It will be clear that on the whole our objectives have been well achieved. We have engaged the menacing Pakistani forces in many sectors and have, by and large, held the positions despite the heavy counter - attacks mounted by Pakistan. Heavy fighting is continuing and our jawans and Air Force are giving a good account of themselves.
As I indicated earlier, our overall purpose is a limited one; to prevent the mounting of attacks by the Pakistani military machine in our territory and we hope that Pakistan will realise that we will not tolerate interference with the territorial integrity of India, of which Kashmir is a part. We do not wish to extend the areas of conflict. It is Pakistan which has again started firing along the East Pakistan India border. What its designs are, we do not know, but we will remain prepared to meet a threat if one develops there. Pakistan has been resorting to bombing of civilian areas like Jammu, Ranbirsinghpura, Jaurian, Amritsar, Ferozepur, etc. where considerable damage to civilian life and property has been caused. Notwithstanding the malicious Pakistani propaganda, particularly abroad, that we have bombed civilian areas in Rawalpindi and Karachi, we have refrained from any such action. Our air strikes in the Rawalpindi area have been limited to the Chaklala airfield from which sorties have been mounted for aggression on us, and elsewhere also we have been attacking their air bases only. It is Pakistan which has resorted to unfair means as is evidenced by Indian Air Force markings observed on a Pakistani F - 86 plane by our pilots. We hope that Pakistan will even at this stage give up the false pretences which it has been making ever since the induction of Pakistani armed personnel in disguise into our State of Jammu and Kashmir.
