[1][2] Because it was Eid al-Fitr most PAF personnel had been given the day off, with only a skeleton crew, mostly comprising unmarried officers and airmen, on duty.

Pakistani radar had detected that an intruder had flown in from Indian airspace, heading towards Gujrat, Pakistan.

Yunis fired a burst from his guns which hit the Canberra at an altitude of 47,500 ft (14,500 m) and brought it down over Rawat.

The Foreign Office of Pakistan published a press note allegedly with a written statement of Sqn.

The press note emphasized the fact that the incident took place on the Eid when the Indian Air Force expected that the Pakistani defence personnel, like the rest of the nation, would be celebrating Eid and it would consequently make their espionage mission less risky and more promising on that day.