I shared grief of daughter of IAF pilot who I shot down: Ex-Pak pilot

Former Pakistan flying officer Qais Hussain who fought for Pakistan in the 1965 war created a flutter after he wrote to the daughter of Indian Air Force pilot Jahangir “Jangoo” Engineer, whose plane he had downed. In an interview to DNA’s Amir Mir, Hussain said he did not intend to apologise to Farida Singh but wanted to share her grief.

How are your former colleagues and acquaintances reacting to your letter?
Reaction is extremely positive and this gesture has been widely appreciated, both by family, friends and old colleagues.

Is the feeling shared by other pilots and soldiers who have been into a similar situation?
My fellow colleagues in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) have mostly acknowledged it as a good and positive step…

What’s the response from the Engineer family? Have you sent similar mails to other families, like that of the Gujarat chief minister?
Farida’s reply was very positive. If I moved one step, she took a magnanimous leap. I met the daughter-in-law and the granddaughter of late Balwantrai Mehta on a live show on TV.

Such incidents have been reported in the past, where in a pilot expresses his feelings about acts committed in the line of duty. But considering tense relations between the two countries, what gave you the courage to write such a mail and then make it public?
The purpose of the email was purely to inform the bereaved families of the true facts about the incident because what the Indian media and the government’s inquiry committee had told its public was totally inaccurate having been based on hearsay and peasant accounts. I did not have any intention of making it public.
As for courage, I am a strong believer in correcting anything that is wrongly said, done or written.

What took you 46 years to extend out condolences to Farida Singh?
To be frank, I never paid much attention to what had happened during the course of the ‘65 war. I thought of writing to the families when I read the inaccurate media reports. It was meant to offer condolences as a courtesy.

Your email is explanatory, heartfelt and condoling. Is the lack of apology intentional?
I had never ever felt guilty because I was doing my duty and carrying out the orders and doing what I had been trained to do. Apology and remorse were never on my mind.

Would you say there are unwilling moments for a fighter during war? Was this moment one of those?
We are trained to do and die but not to reason why. There should never be an unwilling moment in the life of a soldier or a fighter.

Do you think there ever will be peace between two countries?
War is never a solution to anything. The days of Ghaznavis and Baburs are long gone and it is high time that both countries strive for a peaceful co-existence.