In
1962 it was felt necessary by the PAF to establish a radar
installation at Badin due to the strategic importance of the
area. It was located close to the Indian border, and enemy
aircraft taking off from forward Indian airfields in
Rajasthan would have to pass through its cover to attack
civil and military targets in the lower Sindh region between
Sukkur and Karachi. For a number of years the base remained
an important sector operations centre contributing to the
air defence of a large area in the southern region of
Pakistan.
The base is located in the typically sandy and flat terrain
of the southern Sindh where the post-independence
availability of water has transformed the countryside into
highly productive farm lands. Due to its remote location,
friends did sympathize in the early days if one was posted
to Badin. But with the efforts and initiatives of each
successive base commander, the technical and domestic
facilities at Badin continued to improve and today the base
is fully self sufficient in all operational, administrative
and recreational respects.
Throughout the 1965 war Badin's men bravely warded off air
attacks and kept its operational facilities fully intact. On
21 September, When an enemy rocket set ablaze an equipment
building, Leading Aircraftman Muhammad Anwar Hussain Khan, a
radar mechanic of the maintenance wing, died a hero's death
while trying to extinguish this fire. For his courageous
conduct Anwar Hussain was posthumously awarded the
Tamgha-e-Juraat. He lies buried near the main guard room
where floral wreaths are laid on his grave on 7 September
every year to renew the memory of his valour.
Some time before the 1971 war began, the sector operations
centre at Badin was moved to a new location to enable it
better to cover a larger area of responsibility. During that
war, the observer squadrons of the base were deployed at
their assigned surveillance posts and provided excellent and
timely warnings to the air defence network. In one
particular air raid against Badin itself the determined
gunners of the ack unit shot down an attacking Mig-21 with
their intensive and accurate fire. Much has been done in
recent years too by way of further development and
modernization of the base. Its responsibilities have been
enhanced both in magnitude and in character to enable it to
continue its solid contribution to the PAF's operational
efficiency.