The Polish officers played an active part in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, leading and commanding air war operations against the Indian Air Force. The Polish officers helped defend Lahore and West Pakistan. The Pakistan Government bestowed the Sitara-e-Pakistan on General Turowicz, Major Anotnii Zbigniew Jedryszek and others; Turowicz and some of the pilots also received honorary Pakistani citizenship. General Turowicz and his family remained vital figures in Pakistan. In 1972 Turowicz and other Polish scientists participated in Pakistan's secret atomic bomb project. Polish scientists also helped the country to launch its space programme, with General Turowicz becoming the program's technical director in 1967.