Khyber Khan - The Conqueror Of Skardu

[Saqib Shah]

The next milestone in Khyber Khan’s life as a Air warrior came in the shape of the unforgettable and daring exploit of transporting a mortar gun in the rear seat of a T-6 Harvard aircraft to Gilgit, which was instrumental in the capture of Skardu.

Soon after independence on October 26th, 1947 the Hindu Maharaja of Kashmir declared accession of the Muslim majority state to India, in complete disregard of the principle enunciate in the document concerning partition. He invited Indian Military help and on October 27, Indian forces moved into the state, Thus exposing a pre-conceived plan for the occupation of Kashmir. No sooner did the news of the Maharaja’s accession spread that the people of Poonch and Mirpure district formed the Azad Kashmir Government at Muzaffarabad.

During the first Indo-Pak was of 1948, forward elements of Azad Kashmir forces had by-passed Skardu in pursuit of the Indian units fleeing south towards Kashmir. However a Dogra battalion entrenched within kharphocho Fort posed a serious threat in the rear of the advancing column and had to be removed in order to secure the lines of communication. Due to the location of the fort, a direst frontal assault was deemed extremely hazardous and the Azad Kashmir forces did not posses any suitable weapon with which to engage the entrenched Dogras. There as no artillery support and air strike was not advisable. Lest it led to an all-out war against the numerically far superior RIAF. It was finally decided that a mortar gun capable of firing a high trajectory projectile could possibly be the only weapon that could effectively target the fort. Thus efforts were commenced to make one available to the Azad Kashmir forces. Till the early 1950s, the only access to this part of the country was an unreliable mule track, which remained blocked for most of the year due to land slides and snow. The present runway at Gilgit and Skardu had not been built. The first 2 attempts to deliver a mortar gun having failed, It was decided to airlift one into Gilgit. The honor of being picked up for this vital mission went to Flt Lt Khyber Khan who was them commanding the Advanced Flying School at Risalpur. He was aware that the mission was very dangerous and hazardous because the enemy was on RED Alert and he had to be extra cautious. In order to accommodate the unwieldy barrel of the mortar cannon the rear canopy of the T-6G Harvard was removed and the weapon was strapped to the seat. The rear cockpit instrument panel was also removed to make more space and its barrel was placed in a tilted position in a manner that it lay only a few inches behind the head of the pilot.

Flight Lieutenant Khyber Khan took off from Risalpur in the Peshawar Valley in the afternoon of April 14th, 1948. Even at 12 thousand feet the flight was bumpy, and the farther he flew the higher the mountains rose, crowding him on both sides in this narrowing valley below. Halfway the sky was getting darker and T-6 could not climb over such a mountains, suddenly the aircraft jolted severely causing the pilot some alarm, Survival was at stake in case of engine failure or an intensive downdraft at this low height. And what id the barrel got loose? Instinctively Khyber silently prayed and by the Grace of God thing started to look better the weather got good, but this relief was short lived because moments later he saw 2 objects high above Chilas ahead of him. These had to be Indian Tempest fighting patrolling west of Nanga Parbat. The T-6G swooped down to water level till a turn in the river shielded it from enemy’s view. Still keeping low and watchful for any lurking intruders above, He turned west towards the Gilgit as he approached the destination, Clouds began to gather again and he realized it would be soon too dark and better land soon. The Gilgit scouts had fire as a signal for him and a rugged runway was made which was sandy and a 3 pointer landing was made the plane just stopped close to the mountain base.

The Militia and the Scouts has been waiting anxiously for this special mission. They received the aircraft with jubilation and loud cheers of Allah - o- Akbar under the pilot’s supervision the mortar was quickly taken out and placed near a waiting camel. The men them gathered large stones and made a wall around the plane and camouflaged it from the top. While Khyber Khan was provided the Scouts commandant’s own Charger Horse to take him to the camp, a full platoon was decided to mount guard for the night at the field. Occasionally a sentry would stand looking intently at the T-6G and then smile affectionately patting its wings.

Indian fighter came the next morning to strafe the side, but the pilot was by then speeding home in hid T-6G. And in the mounted column a Bactrian camel plodded along the bank of the Indus river carring the heavy mortar cannon over a rocky track towards distant Sakdu, to the vicinity of the enemy help Kharphocho Fort. 3 days later the mortar fired thrice and the Dogras hastily raised the white flag of surrender over the rampart of Kharphocho, Skardu had fallen. Flt Lt Khyber khan got the message from the commandant of the liberation forces telling him that they conquered Skardu.

Source: www.defence.pk
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