PAF detected US planes near Jalalabad border before OBL operation

ISLAMABAD: An initial investigation report has revealed that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) radars installed in Peshawar and Risalpur were functioning properly on May 2 and the movement of some half-a-dozen planes was detected near the Jalalabad border at 11 pm before the US helicopters entered Abbottabad to kill Osama bin Laden.

“One aircraft was identified as a US AWACS and the remaining five were recognised as F-18 jets of the US. These planes flew near the Pakistani border, but did not cross into the airspace of Pakistan,”

the report added.

Meanwhile, the PAF formed a special investigation committee to probe into the violation of Pakistan’s airspace by the US helicopters to kill Osama bin Laden. It is the first committee formed to investigate the incident. The team will see how the Pakistani forces remained ignorant about the presence of foreign helicopters.

The committee, being headed by a group captain, has started its work by checking the record of radars thoroughly and interviewing officials who were on duty when the US helicopters violated Pakistan’s airspace.

“More such committees will be formed to unveil the facts about the Abbottabad operation,” the sources added. The committee will investigate how Pakistan’s radar system, which could detect the flights outside Pakistan’s limit, could not notice the US helicopters, which entered into Pakistan and remained there for hours. The officers of PAF will also examine the aspect whether the planes, traced by the radars, were meant to divert the attention of Pakistani forces.

http://thetimesofpakistan.com/2011/05/09/paf-detected-us-planes-near-jalalabad-border-before-obl-operation/