page_title: Pakistan Air Force
section_title: Counter-insurgency operations in North-West Pakistan (2001–present)
hierarchical_section_title: Pakistan Air Force / History / Counter-insurgency operations in North-West Pakistan (2001–present)
caption_attribution_description: English: Two 500-pound bombs explode on a target after they were dropped by a Pakistani air force Mirage III aircraft during Falcon Air Meet 2010 at Azraq Royal Jordanian Air Base in Azraq, Jordan, Nov. 1, 2010.. The United States, Jordan and Pakistan participated in Falcon Air Meet 2010 to improve international military relations and joint air operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eric Harris/Released)اردو: پاک فضائیہ کا میراج(روز-III) طیارہ فالکن میٹ دو ہزار دس کے دوران اپنے ہدف کو پانچ سو کلو گرام کے بم سے نشانہ بناتے ہوئے.
context_page_description: The Pakistan Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Navy when required. The PAF has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport and logistics capability to the Government of Pakistan. As of 2017, per the IISS, the PAF has 70,000 active-duty personnel and operates 871 aircraft.
  Its primary mandate and mission is "to provide, in synergy with other inter-services, the most efficient, assured and cost effective aerial defence of Pakistan." Since its establishment in 1947, the PAF has been involved in various combat operations, providing aerial support to the operations and relief efforts of the Pakistani military. Under Article 243, the Constitution of Pakistan appoints the President of Pakistan as the civilian Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of Air Staff, by statute a four-star commissioned air officer, is appointed by the President with the consultation and confirmation needed from the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
context_section_description: The Pakistan Army faced several problems during its 2009 offensive against the Taliban in North-West Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis vacated the area when the offensive was announced and, eventually, over two million had to be accommodated in refugee camps. The offensive was to be completed as quickly as possible to allow the refugees to return to their homes but the army's fleet attack helicopters were not sufficient enough to provide adequate support to infantry on the ground. The PAF was sent into action against the Taliban to make up for the lack of helicopter gunships. Because the PAF was trained and equipped to fight a conventional war, a new "counter-terrorist doctrine" had to be improvised.
  The PAF's Saffron Bandit exercise focused on extensive training of combat personnel to undertake COIN operations. New equipment was inducted to improve the PAF's joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. A C-130 transport aircraft was indigenously modified for day/night ISR operations.
  Use of laser-guided bombs was increased to 80% of munitions used, as compared to 40% in the previous 1960s Bajaur campaign. A small corps of ground spotters were trained and used by the PAF, in addition to Pakistan Army spotters, to identify high-value targets.
  Prior to the Pakistan Army's offensive into South Waziristan, the PAF attacked militant infrastructure with 500 lb and 2000 lb bombs.
  A number of civilian casualties occurred during PAF airstrikes on 10 April 2010 in the FATA tribal region. According to sources from the Pakistani military, the first bombing was targeted at a gathering of militants in a compound. Locals who had quickly moved onto the scene of the first airstrike to recover the dead and wounded were then killed by a second airstrike. While there is no confirmed death toll, it is widely believed that at least 30 civilian deaths had occurred according to the military approximations, whereas a local official stated that at least 73 locals, including women and children, were killed. A six-member committee of tribal elders from the area tasked with finding the exact number of civilian casualties reported that 61 civilians were killed and 21 were wounded. This was not confirmed by government figures but Pakistan's then-Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Kayani, gave a public apology on 17 April. It is reported that BBC News and several other media correspondences were not allowed to take interviews from the injured.
caption: Pakistan Air Force Mirage III aircraft drops two 500-pound bombs during Falcon Air Meet 2010 at Azraq Royal Jordanian Air Base in Azraq, Jordan
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