The Cold War: The story of the ill-fated U-2 plane flying from Pakistan's Badaber Air Base for Russian espionage and the American pilot.

 After the Second World War, it was the era of the Cold War. The world was divided between the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, and both powers were engaged in a silent race to outdo each other.

One power represented the capitalist system, while the other represented the communist way of life. Both had an abundance of weapons, but both powers were averse to their use. This war was fought not with weapons but through espionage, in which the roles of the CIA (America's clandestine agency) and the KGB (Soviet clandestine agency) were very significant.

In this scenario, on May 1, 1960, Soviet Premier Khrushchev announced that their country had shot down an American U-2 spy plane and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers.

According to Soviet authorities, the plane was flying at an altitude of approximately 70,000 feet within the Soviet Union's airspace and was equipped with modern and sensitive cameras that were capturing images of significant Soviet installations. They also alleged that this spy plane had taken off from the Badaber Airbase near the Pakistani city of Peshawar.

This international incident was significant not only in world history but also in relation to Pakistani history because it made the world aware that Pakistan had allowed American military bases to be established on its soil, from where Russian installations were being monitored.

It should be noted that the Badaber Airbase was established in 1959 and was handed over to America for ten years. In 1960, the U-2 spy plane had flown from the same base, and after its downing, Pakistan's involvement with this airbase was revealed.

Even before this flight of the U-2, similar types of spy planes had entered the Soviet Union's borders from several airbases in Turkey and Iran, but due to their high altitude, they often escaped Soviet radars.

Soviet authorities only knew that something was entering Soviet territory at a very high altitude and then returning. When, on May 1, the U-2 plane entered Soviet airspace via Kazakhstan, Soviet authorities were prepared in advance.

They targeted it successfully with a missile launched from the ground at the Kosolino location, and it was successfully brought down within Soviet borders. Pilot Francis Gary Powers ejected via parachute, and upon landing, he was taken into custody.

Gary Powers and the equipment he had, which the Russians had seized, had become one of America's best-known incidents, as a living, safe pilot had fallen into the hands of Soviet authorities. The Soviet Union announced the prosecution of Gary Powers, and sympathies poured in from around the world.

Both the President of the United States, Eisenhower, and the President of Pakistan, Ayub Khan, denied the allegations made by Soviet authorities. The American authorities claimed that it was a routine meteorological flight that had strayed into Soviet airspace. However, when Gary Powers' trial began in a Soviet court in August 1960, the world came to know that the allegations made by Soviet authorities were entirely true.

On August 19, 1960, the Soviet Union's military court in Moscow sentenced Francis Gary Powers to ten years in prison. The trial began two days earlier on August 17, 1960, where Gary Powers confessed that on May 1, 1960, he had initiated his plane's flight from the location near Badaber, close to Peshawar, and was tasked with taking pictures of the Russian area during the flight.

The Russian court sentenced Gary Powers to ten years in prison based on his confession of guilt. However, a year and a half later, on February 10, 1962, he was released in exchange for a Russian spy colonel, Rudolf Abel (real name William Fisher), in America.

After the incident of the U-2 plane, the world became aware of the American military base at Badaber. After this revelation, the Soviet Union strongly protested against Pakistan, and then Pakistan did not miss any opportunity to harm Pakistan.

On the other hand, America also adopted a special attitude, especially during the 1965 Pakistan-India war, towards Pakistan. The Badaber base was rebuilt for a period of ten years, and it was agreed that if Pakistan did not decide to close this base before the end of the ten-year period, the agreement would automatically renew itself, and this base would continue to operate for another ten years.

In view of this aspect of the agreement, Pakistan informed America in 1968 that it apologized for the renewal of the agreement of this base. On July 18, 1969, a government spokesman announced that on the end of the ten-year agreement between America and Pakistan, the American communications base near Badaber, close to Peshawar, had ceased operations since last night.

Who was Gary Powers?

Pilot Gary Powers came from a humble background. His parents were associated with the field of farming, but they left no stone unturned to provide their son with a good education.

They wanted him to become a doctor, but he chose to join the Air Force, and in 1952, he became a member of the United States Air Force. He joined the CIA in January 1956. That same year, he received training to fly the U-2 plane. After completing his training, he served in Turkey and Pakistan. His family was under the impression that he was associated with NASA's space project.

Gary Powers, who was serving on the spy plane, was equipped with highly sensitive and modern cameras. This high-resolution camera could take pictures of ground installations from a height of 70,000 feet. This plane continued a series of espionage flights first from Turkey and then from Iran, and in 1959, when an American military base was established near Badaber, close to Peshawar, the plane began flying from there.

Soviet authorities had some knowledge of U-2 activities since 1958, but there was no definitive evidence in their hands. When Gary Powers' U-2 plane was shot down on May 1, the Soviet Union also learned that Pakistan was silently cooperating in these flights.

When was Gary Powers presented before the Russian court?

Upon his return home after his release, Gary Powers had to face the scrutiny of his own country's authorities. He was accused of not destroying the camera and the images saved in it before his plane was shot down. He was also accused of not using the cyanide capsule for suicide instead of parachuting.

On March 6, 1962, he was summoned before an armed forces select committee to explain these allegations. Gary Powers successfully convinced the select committee, and the charges against him were dropped. In March 1964, CIA Director Allen Dulles presented Gary Powers with accolades, stating that he had completed his mission under extremely dangerous circumstances.

From 1962 to 1970, Gary Powers continued to work as a pilot for an American aerospace company, and his salary was paid by the CIA. In 1970, with the help of Curt Gentry, he wrote a book called "Operation Overflight". After this, the American aerospace company dismissed him from his job, and he began working in a modest position at a helicopter flying agency.

During this employment, on August 1, 1977, Gary Powers died in a helicopter accident.

After Gary Powers' death, the US government honored him with the Silver Star and the Prisoner of War Medal. His son, Francis Gary Powers Jr., established a Cold War museum in 1996 where he displayed items related to his father and other individuals.

Francis Gary Powers Jr.'s initiative inspired the creation of several TV dramas. In 2015, a film titled "Bridge of Spies" was made about his release, in which his character was portrayed by Austin Stowell.

Note: The Badaber Air Base was established in 1959. On July 17, 1959, this air base was handed over to the United States for ten years. This report was first published on October 29, 2020, and is being republished today on the occasion of the anniversary.