PNS Ghazi Part 3

PNS GHAZI

MYSTERIOUS SINKING OF PAKISTANI SUBMARINE SOLVED (Last Part)

by Zaheeruddin Babar

 

 

     In order to find out this we have to go 7 months back when in April 1971, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had asked the Indian Army chief General Sam Manekshaw if he was ready to go to war with Pakistan.
         According to Manekshaw's own personal account, he refused, citing the onset of  monsoon season in East Pakistan and due to the fact that the army tanks were being refitted. But he then said he could guarantee victory if she would allow him to prepare for the conflict on his terms,; Gandhi accepted his conditions.

            After  this Indira Gandhi quietly sent Moscow a request for military assistance and expressed her willingness to join Soviet security treaty. This assurance was enshrined in the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation  and signed in August 1971.this treaty also included secret provisions for special military support.

             Soviet military support enabled India to plan a war with Pakistan, But still PNS Ghazi was a big hurdle for them. And  they had probably asked Soviets to remove this hurdle.

               To win war with Pakistan India had needed to implement  a complete naval blockade between east and west Pakistan. And long range submarine like Ghazi was the biggest hurdle. Soviets could easily provide reconnaissance airplanes, warships ,submarines and radars etc  to enable India to implement  its war plans. But in order to handle such military hardware, a lot of training and experience is required. And Indians had no time for training. That’s why  they probably asked for Soviet personal  involvement.

                Now this explains our theory. At the end of November when PNS Ghazi was near Madras at least 2 Soviets war ships and one nuclear submarine were present  there waiting,  while all Indian vessels were hidden in Andaman islands. As soon as PNS Ghazi moved towards  the coast of Vishakhapatnam  it was engaged in fight with Soviet ships and submarines.

              This can explain why PNS Ghazi couldn’t contact with NHQ on 26^th Nov. PNS Ghazi successfully engaged  those Soviet ships and submarine for the next 8 days. But at the night of 4^th Dec it got hit from a Soviet Submarine. An underwater explosion happened. After this those two ships visited the sight of explosion, confirmed the sinking and left for the bay of Bengal. 

And at the same time all ships of Indian Eastern Naval command started their operations in Bay of Bengal.

“The Soviet ships then reported that the English operative connection has come nearer to territorial Indian waters  led by an aircraft carrier “Eagle”.

On 6 and 13 December, the Soviet Navy dispatched two more groups of cruisers and destroyers from Vladivostok;

      
              They also trailed US Task Force 74 into the Indian .The Soviets also had a nuclear submarine to help ward off the threat posed by the USS Enterprise task force in the Indian Ocean.

This also explains why Indian Navy destroyed all the record related to the sinking of PNS GHAZI.

                   There is another thing that supports this theory. Rear-Admiral,  Mohammad Shariff was Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) at the Eastern Naval Command HQ in East Pakistan . He personally led many operations against the Eastern Command of the Indian Army. In the East. Upon surrendering of Eastern Command,he was taken as prisoner of war.He was released in 1973.He was allowed to resume his military service and testified in war enquiry commission.In 1974, he was promoted as Vice-Admiral

In  1975, Vice-Admiral Shariff's  was appointed  as Chief of Naval Staff. On  January 1977, he was appointed acting Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

                   On 25 December 1979,when  the Soviet Union officially intervened in Afghanistan and President Zia called for a national security meeting, Shariff described  in detail the  Soviet involvement in East Pakistan's crises. The soviet Support proved decisive factor and  ultimately ended in splitting of Pakistan. After this meeting, Zia authorized  a military operation under General Rahman, and it was later merged with Operation Cyclone, a programme funded by the United States and the CIA.