Some war memories

This week brought back memories of our own wars in 1965 and then in 1971. As I watched TV and saw ordinary people scramble for cover amidst the wail of sirens I was reminded of such scenarios in our very own city. In those wars the focus of all bombardment was the port area, which also housed petroleum storage of all the major companies.

The most significant event of that war that I can recollect was a direct hit at one of these petroleum storages.

It happened in the night and I missed the actual event as I was at that time underground in a basement of our neighbors in P.E.C.H.S. That is another interesting story. In our neighborhood one of the bungalow owners had constructed an underground basement and when the war broke out offered me and my family shelter in that basement during the night hours when the aerial attacks usually occurred. That night too when the attackers made those hits we were underground and when we got up and came out in the open I sensed that it was a little cloudy.

Only when I was fully in the open that I realized these were no ordinary clouds but plumes of dark smoke, which were rising to the sky from the direction of the petroleum storage areas near the water front.

My neighbor informed me that last night there were several hits at the storage area and the whole area was in flames. If I remember rightly these dark clouds remained hovering over Karachi for a few days. This was perhaps the only significant strike the enemy could inflict; otherwise, mostly the attackers were chased away by our ever-vigilant air forces. These were memorable times when the entire nation stood as one and everyone in some way or the other performed their duty to defend the country.

I still remember that night when we were sitting at a Kebab House restaurant in P.E.C.H.S. when someone came running and said that the enemy’s paratroopers have landed near Model school which was a little distance from the restaurant. Everyone got up and shouted, “let us get them without considering what kind of weapons they might have”.

Someone picked up the iron rods used to make Kebabs and others stones or whatever they could lay their hands on and started running towards the school. Obviously, there were no paratroopers but the whole area was ringing with shouts of “Allah o Akbar” and to tell you the truth everyone was disappointed not to find paratroopers as they were just yearning for a fight.

It was not only in Karachi but in the entire country that the people were standing shoulder to shoulder with their army. Who can forget that people would make all kinds of foods, including huge pots better known as degs full of Biryani and go sit on the G.T. Road in Lahore waiting for armed forces’ vehicles going towards the war front. These people would plead with the soldiers to please take this food and also give it to their brethren fighting on the war front. When the enemy’s planes came to attack the people instead of going into bunkers would climb on roof tops and cheer their fighters as if this was not a deadly combat but something out of Basant and would cry Wo Kata when they saw a plane coming down shot down by our air force.

Something that is unforgettable in that war was the role of the entertainment industry. The patriotic songs that were sung by legends of the film industry like Noor Jehan and others will always be remembered and are still played to arouse the passion of the listeners.

There is much that has changed in the way wars are now fought. We are now in the electronic age and wars have become so impersonal. Gone are the days of prolonged combat and wars that spread over months and even years.

The likes of tank battles that occurred in 1965 in Chawinda in the Sialkot sector are no more. For me that is one heroic battle our armed forces fought and won and that basically decided the fate of that war. Nowadays wars can be watched in the comfort of your house on your TV screens thousands of miles away from the actual combat and in these volatile times you can watch conflicts big and small according to your choice.

The 1965 war united the country and as I watch various conflicts currently ongoing around the globe I wonder what impact these wars are having on the local populations. Will it unite their countries as it did ours in 1965?

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026