In what it might be called as an embarrassing situation for Pakistan, its own pilot was beaten to death by a local mob thinking that he was an Indian.
According to Firstpost, the deceased was identified as Wing Commander Shahaz-ud-Din, was flying the elite F-16 warplane during the fight between the Indian and Pakistani Air Force (PAF) on Wednesday. After his aircraft was shot by an IAF pilot using his MiG-21 Bison, Shahaz-ud-Din ejected himself out and used a parachute to land to safety. The locals in Nowshera suspected him to be Indian defence personnel and began assaulting till members of the Pakistani Army rushed to the spot and freed him.
However, Pakistani locals thrashed him so badly that he had to be admitted in the hospital. FirstPost added that like Wing Commander Varthaman, Shahaz-ud-Din also belonged to an illustrious military family. Shahaz-ud-Din’s father Waseem-ud-Din, also an Air Marshal of the Pakistan Air Force, who has flown F-16 and Mirages. Reports said that due to this confusion, Pakistan government had earlier claimed that they have two Indian pilots in their custody. However, later they retracted from their statement and tried to hide the goof-up.
