Other organizations like the ASEAN Regional Forum too supported India's stand on the inviolability of the LOC. [71] According to General Ved Malik, the bulk of the infiltration occurred in April.[72]. The BBC spoke to him in Rawalpindi, where he is receiving medical treatment. [31] Like other areas in the Himalayas, Kargil has a continental climate. Summers are cool with frigid nights, while winters are long and chilly with temperatures often dropping to −48 °C (−54 °F).[32]. Notably, Kargil is the only district in t… While the more obvious routes are more heavily defended, what 18 Grenadiers were faced with vertical cliff faces and an enemy that was well entrenched in a dominant position. During the initial stages of the war, Pakistan blamed the fighting entirely on independent Kashmiri insurgents, but documents left behind by casualties and later statements by Pakistan's Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff showed involvement of Pakistani paramilitary forces,[25][26][27] led by General Ashraf Rashid. [90] Many posts were also heavily mined, with India later stating to have recovered more than 8,000 anti-personnel mines according to an ICBL report. Since Pakistan and India each had weapons of mass destruction, many in the international community were concerned that if the Kargil conflict intensified, it could lead to nuclear war. This will alert our moderators to take action. His government was toppled in a military coup two months later. "Two boys were injured last year when they stepped on a bomb," Ghulam Mohammad says. [109], Faced with growing international pressure, Sharif managed to pull back the remaining soldiers from Indian territory. One month after conclusion of the Kargil War, the Atlantique Incident, in which a Pakistan Navy plane was shot down by India, briefly reignited fears of a conflict between the two countries. [34] With tactically vital features and well-prepared defensive posts atop the peaks, a defender on the high ground would enjoy advantages akin to that of a fortress. Pakistan accused India of using chemical weapons and incendiary weapons such as napalm against the Kashmiri fighters. This exploited Pakistan's dependence on sea-based oil and trade flows. At a seminar in Karachi, Pakistani journalists agreed that while the Indian government had taken the press and the people into its confidence, Pakistan had not.[153]. This resulted in Indian troops first targeting the Tiger Hill and Tololing complex in Dras, which dominated the Srinagar-Leh route. When the Indians detected the incursion in early May 1999, Pakistan said they were Kashmiri militants fighting Indian rule. Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers were also employed, that broke the enemy’s back. Paul R. Dettman, "India Changes Course" (Greenwood Publishing Group: 2001), high-altitude warfare in mountainous terrain, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, "Kargil War Brings into Sharp Focus India's Commitment to Peace", "Breakdown of casualties into Officers, JCOs, and Other Ranks", "Complete Roll of Honour of Indian Army's Killed in Action during Op Vijay", "Official statement giving breakdown of wounded personnel", http://newsd.in/iaf-pilot-nachiketa-kargil-war-hero-who-was-caught-tortured-yet-returned-with-raised-head/, "Musharraf claims Kargil was a big success militarily for Pakistan", "Pak quietly names 453 men killed in Kargil war", "Musharraf now has Pak's Kargil toll: 357", "Kargil probe body had sought Musharraf's court martial", "Over 4,000 soldiers killed in Kargil: Sharif", "Kargil: Pak suffered most casualties at Batalik", "How artillery changed the tide of the Kargil war", "Pak commander blows the lid on Islamabad's Kargil plot", "Sharif admits he let down Vajpayee on Kargil conflict", "War in Kargil – The CCC's summary on the war", "Limited War with Pakistan: Will It Secure India's Interests? After the war, the Indian government severed ties with Pakistan and increased defence preparedness. India also released taped phone conversations between the Army Chief and a senior Pakistani general where the latter is recorded saying: "the scruff of [the militants] necks is in our hands," although Pakistan dismissed it as a "total fabrication". Kargil war was declared over on July 26, 1999.
On 12 October 1999, General Musharraf staged a bloodless coup d'état, ousting Nawaz Sharif. The war had produced higher than expected fatalities for the Indian military, with a sizeable percentage of them including newly commissioned officers.
There were three major phases to the Kargil War. The impact of the war in the sporting arena was also visible during the India-Pakistan clash in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, which coincided with the Kargil timeline. The first attempt to wrest control of the dominant conical feature in the second week of May 1999 by the 8th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment did not go according to plan. Many other movies like Tango Charlie also drew heavily upon the Kargil episode, which still continues to be a plot for mainstream movies with a Malayalam movie "Keerthi Chakra", being based on an incident in Kargil. Pakistan was criticised by the International community for allowing its paramilitary forces and insurgents to cross the Line of Control. The aim was to sever the link between Kashmir and Ladakh, and cause Indian forces to withdraw from the Siachen Glacier, thus forcing India to negotiate a settlement of the broader Kashmir dispute. In an article published in a defence journal in 2000, Sanjay Badri-Maharaj, a security expert, claimed while quoting another expert that India too had readied at least five nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.[158]. He was in his late teens when hostilities broke out and he had to leave his apricot trees and livestock behind in his village, Hargosel.
[54][60] Musharraf, however, asserted that Sharif had been briefed on the Kargil operation 15 days ahead of Vajpayee's journey to Lahore on 20 February.[61]. Sh Sanjeev Raina IG NE Frontier ITBP and other officials also seen. The Pakistani media too was vocal in its criticism of the whole plan and the eventual climbdown from the Kargil heights since there were no gains to show for the loss of lives and only resulted in international condemnation for its actions. The BBC contacted the Pakistani military, which said it would check the details of the cases. [179][180] The morale of Pakistan forces after the withdrawal declined as many units of the Northern Light Infantry suffered heavy casualties. The unit suffered heavy losses, and it was decided to defer the capture till surrounding features had been captured.
Required fields are marked *. India, on the other hand, showcased a cache of gas masks, among other firearms, as proof that Pakistan may have been prepared to use non-conventional weapons.
An internal assessment report by the armed forces, published in an Indian magazine, showed several other failings, including "a sense of complacency" and being "unprepared for a conventional war" on the presumption that nuclearism would sustain peace. A retired Pakistani Army General, Lt Gen Ali Quli Khan Khattak, lambasted the war as "a disaster bigger than the East Pakistan tragedy", adding that the plan was "flawed in terms of its conception, tactical planning and execution" that ended in "sacrificing so many soldiers.". Pakistani Lieutenant General Shahid Aziz, and then head of ISI analysis wing, has confirmed there were no mujahideen but only regular Pakistan Army soldiers who took part in the Kargil War. India also released taped phone conversations between the Army Chief and a senior Pakistani general where the latter is recorded saying: "the scruff of [the militants] necks is in our hands",[107] although Pakistan dismissed it as a "total fabrication". 1. [80][81][82][83] The Indian Navy's western and eastern fleets joined in the North Arabian Sea and began aggressive patrols and threatened to cut Pakistan's sea trade. 12. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. "The army told us the government would pay. "Some people had put up tents in the desert outside the town. Initially, these incursions were not detected for a number of reasons: Indian patrols were not sent into some of the areas infiltrated by the Pakistani forces and heavy artillery fire by Pakistan in some areas provided cover for the infiltrators. National Highway No. The war showed that despite a tactically sound plan that had the element of surprise, little groundwork had been done to gauge the politico-diplomatic ramifications. [95] Although most of the posts in the vicinity of the highway were cleared by mid-June, some parts of the highway near Drass witnessed sporadic shelling until the end of the war. The conflict soon turned into a news propaganda war, in which press briefings given by government officials of each nation produced conflicting claims and counterclaims. On October 12, 1999, General Musharraf staged a bloodless coup d'état, ousting Nawaz Sharif. Yadav too was hit by bullets in the shoulder and groin. Titled, "Kargil: Untold stories from the War", the book published by Penguin Random House, is authored by Rachna Bisht Rawat. There was no opposition at all by the Pakistani Air Force, leaving the IAF free to carry out its attacks with impunity. Both countries had tested their nuclear capability a year before in 1998; India conducted its first test in 1974 while it was Pakistan's first-ever nuclear test. [38] During the 1990s, however, escalating tensions and conflict due to separatist activities in Kashmir, some of which were supported by Pakistan,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45] as well as the conducting of nuclear tests by both countries in 1998, led to an increasingly belligerent atmosphere. It also highlighted the lapses in command and control, the insufficient troop levels and the dearth of large-calibre guns like the Bofors. Indian Army is complacent during peace times. Many in Pakistan had expected a victory over the Indian military based on Pakistani official reports on the war, but were dismayed by the turn of events and questioned the eventual retreat. NE Frontier ITBP organised 'Run for martyrs' commemorating #KargilVijayDiwas today in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh.