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PAKISTAN ZINDABAD
LIVE LONG PAKISTAN
KARGIL CONFLICT
The Kargil conflict between Pakistan and India took place in Kashmir between May and July 1999, the objective of the whole conflict was to cut off the link between Kashmir and Ladakh by hitting National Highway No.1 (NH 1) and cause Indian forces to withdraw from the Siachen Glacier forcing India to negotiate and resolve the decade old Kashmir dispute.
The Truth Now Comming Out from the Indian Side:
After 11 years the silence has been broken by indian Army officers who could not take any more of the lies that were being fabricated by the indian media to save face.
Not convinced we won Kargil: Lt Gen Kishan Pal to NDTV
A General who led the Indian Army on ground in the Kargil conflict, has broken his 11-year silence to say that he believes India actually lost the war in strategic terms.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Lieutenant-General Kishan Pal, who was then the head of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, says India has failed to consolidate its tactical gains.
Asked for his assessment of the conflict 11 years later, Gen Pal told NDTV: “Well for 11 years I did not speak at all…I did not speak because I was never convinced about this war, whether we really won it…We did gain some tactical victories, we regained the territories we lost, we lost 587 precious lives. I consider this loss of war because whatever we gained from the war has not been consolidated, either politically or diplomatically. It has not been consolidated militarily.”
Gen Pal was recently in a controversy involving the battle performance report of one of his juniors, Brigadier Devinder Singh.
Speaking to NDTV, the then Army chief General VP Mailk refused to get into the debate but said there was little doubt who won that war.
Read more at: NDTV:
Just the tip of the iceberg, says another Army whistleblower:
A General fudged records to play down a Brigadier’s role in the Kargil War, the Armed Forces Tribunal has said. Is this huge embarrassment for the Army merely the tip of the iceberg?
Other whistleblowers say, yes, this is just the beginning.Brigadier (Retd) Devinder Singh has got justice with the tribunal ruling that his senior officer Lt-Gen Kishan Pal falsified battle records to deny him his due honour. This after the Brigadier filed a petition that there had been wrong depiction of his battle performance. (Read: Wronged Kargil war hero gets his due)
Several complaints similar to Brigadier Singh’s are pending before the Tribunal. One is that of Brigadier Surinder Singh, who was commander of the Kargil-based 121 Brigade in 1999. He was removed from command and blamed for the Kargil intrusions.
Brigadier Surinder Singh too has complained that the role of several officers was either undermined or their warnings were not heeded by superior officers.
Speaking to NDTV from Chandigarh, Surinder Singh said after a favourable judgement for Brigadier Devinder Singh, he now felt that even he would get his due. He said he would reveal all in a book he was writing.
Read More at: NDTV
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Because of the extreme winter weather conditions in Kashmir, it was a common practice of the Indians and Pakistan Army to abandon forward posts and reoccupy them in the spring. In early May 1999 Pakistan Army along with the Mujahideen reoccupied the forward posts in Kargil sector before the Indians.
Pakistan Army was able to bring down effective artillery fire on Indian positions through much of the conflict since they commanded all strategic heights, from the observation posts the Pakistan Army had a clear view to target the Indian main supply route National Highway No.1 (NH 1) inflicting heavy casualties.
The crisis in Kargil was a spill over of an unprovoked Indian attack (6 May) on a Pakistan’s forward post in Shyok Sector’ in Siachen region, about 20 km from the last delineated point of the LoC. The attack was repulsed by the Pakistani forces. India rejected the report of the clash as ‘false and misleading’ but admitted a skirmish along the LoC.
The Pakistani positions on the mountains across Dras river enjoy certain advantage. India captured these positions in 1965, but returned them as per agreement. It managed to recapture them in 1971, and has retained them since. According to Indian sources, while this has removed the threat of small arms fire on the town, posts, in the more distant mountains still overlook the town which exposes the area to Pakistani fire. India has never been happy about the situation and always desired to seize advantageous positions in the Kargil sector.
“We are facing an enemy which does not differentiate between civil and army”
“The Indian soldiers jumped over their dead soldiers while retreating hastily”
“Ammuniion dump of the Indian Army was destroyed which it suffered Rs 2 mn loss”
The main stand point of India has been that so-called ‘intruders’ from Pakistan have seized several heights in Dras-Kargil-Batalik sectors. But there have been conflicting statements regarding the identity and number of ‘intruders’ on the one hand and the number of the ridges seized by them on the other. India first referred to them as ‘militants’, then ‘infiltrators’, then ‘Afghan Taliban’ and now has stated implicating ‘Pakistan Army regulars’. On 19 May Indian Army officers estimated that “at least 300 Afghans were holding out in the mountains-approximately at 17,000 feet.” In an attempt to mislead the international community Indian grabbed youth in Sonamerg a nearby village, dressed them up as Pathans, equipped with arms and made video films of them so that they could be projected as fake Mujahideen, surrendered in Kargil.
“Hundreds of Indian Army dead bodies were lying inside Pak territory”
“Indians Army did not collect the bodies for days which started rotting”
On June 7 India changed its position diametrically and claimed that “the armed intruders comprise mainly Pakistan Army regulars supported by a sprinkling of hired Mujahideen”. Previous official line was that the majority of the intruders were Afghan mercenaries with some Pakistan Army personnel directing their activity, leading them at certain places. In fact, India has been trying to get sympathies of the Western world by portraying the Kashmiri Mujahideen as the Afghan Taliban or militants linked with Osama Bin Laden or Pakistan Army regulars. Similarly on the number of infiltrators, as pointed out above, Indian position has been consistently changing. India started with a figure of 150 and gradually went up to 300, then 700. Recently the figure has shot up dramatically. On 8 June New Delhi claimed that their number ranges between 1,209 and 1,500. This was despite the fact that Indian Army claims to have killed over 300 though it has so far showed no evidence to bolster its claims. This is more than the total number claimed by the Indian authorities.
Indians made a propaganda that its jets were shot down in Indian territory altough the wreckage of the jets were found 12 km inside Pakistani territory. The pilot of the Mig-27 Flt Lt. K Nachiketa was captured alive by Pakistani soldiers while the pilot of Mig-21 Sqn Ldr. Ajay Ahuja was killed. It was believed that he shot himself. After the downing of the Indian Migs the Indian media made propagandas the Pakistan Army could not shoot any Indian aircrafts and the IAF is continuing their activities. The Pakistani defence spokes man Brig. Rashid Qureshi said that after the Indian planes had been shot down they did not violate the Pak airspace and continued to patrol inside Indian territory at a very high altitude.
“Both IAF jets were shot inside Pak territory which were involved in hostile attack”
“A living prisoner is more usefull than a dead one, Pak Army did not kill Ahuja”
“No one, not even the Defence Attache turned up to recieve their own pilot”
A few days later, when FIt Lt. Nachiketa was released as a unilateral gesture of goodwill by Pakistan, on the order of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, no one, not even the Defence Attache turned up to receive their own pilot. The reason they did not want to be publicly seen receiving their prisoner pilot back. The Foreign Office had taken precautions to associate the ICRC with the wellbeing of the Indian pilot. They examined him medically and found him fit, in which condition they took custody of his person and transported him to the border. Squadron Leader Ahuja’s body was returned with full military honours by the Pakistan Army, that has always stuck by the traditions of the battle field. As Ahuja’s body was handed over to India, even before any post-mortem examination it raised alarm that Ahuja may have shot dead after he had parachuted safely to the ground. India had maintained that the Ahuja had “ejected after his MiG 21 was hit by a surface to air missile fired upon from across the LoC.” Later India maintained that according to the post-mortem report Ahuja was shot twice-once through the ear and again in the chest. India launched strong protest with Pakistan over the ‘brutal shooting’ of Sqn. Ldr. Ahuja by his Pakistani captors. This was another attempt to malign Pakistan in the eyes of the world. Knowing fully well that Ahuja fighter plane was shot down when it was engaged in rocketing, artillery firing and automatic firing. In such a combat situation some bullets hitting Ahuja can not be ruled out.
INDIA BANNS PTV BROADCAST
The Indian government banned Pakistan Television broadcasts in India and restricted foreign journalists from going to Kargil. Eleven former Indian generals and bureaucrats have demanded ‘suspension’ of independent analyses of Kargil. They include, the hawk K Subrahmanyam, and two former foreign secretaries. They say Kargil ‘is a test of the national will’. Hence any ‘postmortem’ by analysts should be suspended’. We must not talk about ‘any inadequacies and failures that have led to the crisis’. At stake is our ‘credibility as a nation’.
“India has given us the certificate of truth by banning PTV, Mushahid Hussain”
“Indian Army faced shortage of coffins during the conflict”
The blanket ban on foreign media and Pakistani broadcasts only shows the weakness of the Indian position on the Kargil situation. Recently Indian Minister for External Affairs refused to appear on the CNN, while Pakistani foreign minister briefed the foreign media. Pakistan had also welcomed foreign media to go to LoC and see the situation themselves.
We have fought a great war in the mountains of kashmir, but unfortunately, our then coward prime minister betrayed the nation and we had to retreat, and then, india has used its full propaganda machine to try to come out of a victory after such a humilation at the hands of few hundred mujahideens.
Some facts are:
1.Total number of Mujahideen, at any stage did not exceed approx: 1000.
2. They captured one of the most difficult terrain and in intense cold enviornment.
3. They completely evaded the indian intelligence machine and the (made in india)satellites pictures.
4. It was a total surprise to indians when sheperds brought the news of invasion to indian military machine, which took some days to realize its importance.
5. Indian chief of staff did not even cancelled his foreign visit.
6. The first search party of 60 indian soldiers was completely annihilated and none of them returned.
7. The second search party of 259 indian soldiers was either annihalited or injured.
8. The first camberra reconisance mission ended up in a damaged camberra plane, which did land in srinagar and brought to indians the actual scale of invasion.
9. Two indian planes were downed including a mig 21 and mig 27.
10. An indian helicopter was downed.
11. Airforce totallly stopped all its operations and so did the military helicopters.
12. It took long time for the indian airforce to come back again, but only with mirage 2000 planes dropping bombs from high altitude…and also using laser guided bombs.
13. A barrage of artillery pounding continued for the next 6 weeks, and in the end, even bofor guns were employed, in order to score, as there did not seems to be any change in Mujahideen positions.
14. There was a huge loss to indian military . there was a shortage of coffins. About 1700 indian soldiers died and more than the same number injured.
15. About 50 bofors bombs were used per mujahideen amounting to US$50000 per person, apart from the various other ammunition used extensively including artillery shells, rockets from ground launchers and air and infantry attacks.
16. After all this efforts for nearly 2 months, it took Clinton to come to india´s rescue, and pakistan had to retreat with 370 losses in life.
Gallery
http://pakfauj.tripod.com/gallery-kargil.html
Kargil Conflict News Updates – May 1999
India has moved heavy weapons to Pakistani border:
SRINAGAR, May 15 (AFP) – India has moved heavy weapons to Pakistan’s borders in Kashmir amid reports that Pakistani troops captured a frontier village in the Himalayan zone, officials said on Saturday. Indian defence sources here said heavy artillery pieces have been deployed at the border of the Indian-administered zone of Kashmir to counter further shellings from Pakistan. The deployment came amid reports in a local newspaper on Saturday that Pakistani troops Friday captured a village after bombarding the frontier town of Drass, some 160 kilometres (100 miles) southwest of Srinagar. There was no independent confirmation of the latest cross-border attack from either the Indians or the Pakistanis, but Friday night’s shelling in Drass as intense. Some 40 shells pounded snow-covered Drass and adjoining areas before Pakistani troops took control of the village located on a line of control which divides the two zones of Kashmir. Some 10,000 people fled their homes in Drass after the shelling stopped late Friday evening, the English-language newspaper said. Indian forces have launched a “massive retaliatory attack” on Pakistani positions, and have been seen sending troops to Drass by parachutes in a bid to retake the village, it added. Drass is located in Kashmir’s mountainous border district of Kargil, which is frequently targetted by Pakistani gunners. “Kargill has turned into a battlefield due to the heavy shelling by Pakistani troops in last few days,” an Indian official said of a renewed spell of cross-border artillery duels in the region which started on May 7. Pakistan, earlier Saturday said its armed forces had inflicted “many casualties” on the Indian army in six days of artillery duels. “The Indians suffered many casualties while there was no loss of life on our side,” an official told AFP in Islamabad. The duels continued amid a news blackout on the number of casualties on the Indian side.
16 May 1999, SRINAGAR: Thousands of Indian troops on Sunday launched a major offensive against militants in occupied Kashmir’s Kargil sector, officials said. Military sources in Srinagar said infantry reinforcements moved into the mountains of Kargil, where 10 soldiers and 15 militants have been killed in skirmishes over the past week. Kargil is 240 kilometres southwest of Srinagar. Dozens of helicopter sorties over Kargil were reported on Sunday. Newspapers in occupied Kashmir reported Indian combat jets over the region. “Dozens of Islamic militants in these forward posts have been holed up and their supplies have been cut, and very soon they will be killed,” a senior military source said in Srinagar. Officials said an unspecified number of guerillas, including “fighters from Afghanistan’s Taliban militia” had entered occupied Kashmir under the “cover of week-long shelling by Pakistani troops”. The Tribune newspaper alleged at least 100 heavily-armed guerillas from Pakistan were currently in Kargil. The Pakistan and Indian armies are locked in a fierce artillery duel in Kargil, forcing some 10,000 inhabitants to move out of artillery range, officials said on Sunday. A police officer said they were exchanging heavy artillery, missile and rockets along the Line of Control (LoC). A Kargil resident reached by telephone reported continuing deafening blasts and smoke billowing along several mountains. The defence source said Pakistani gunners were trying to target helicopter gunships moving into the forward area. Local newspapers said at least one Indian helicopter may have been hit. The week-long duels have continued amid a news blackout on the number of Indian casualties. Newspapers speak of between 25 and 50 casualties on both sides, but Indian officials have refused to comment.
Pak Army captures seven posts and a village in Kargil Sector:
17 May 1999, NEW DELHI: Pakistan has captured seven more Indian posts in the Kargil Sector of Indian-occupied Jammu & Kashmir, with the shelling and firing between Indian and Pakistani troops entering seventh day on Saturday, 17 May 1999. Reports said that Pakistani troops have also captured a village after bombarding the frontier town of Drass, some 160 kilometers southwest of Srinagar. Sources in the Indian Defence Ministry in New Delhi said; “at least a dozen unguarded dominating positions described as posts of the Indian Army were taken over by the Pakistani troops backed by heavy artillery fire in the eastern areas of Batalik Range near Drass during the past few days.” Indian Defence authorities here confirmed that intense fighting between the Indian and Pakistani troops has left 23 persons dead including seven Indian army men, one civilian and 15 armed freedom fighters since Sunday morning. The recovery of some bodies in these areas which have been witness to bloody conflict between the two sides was not ruled out. Pakistani troops have cut off the Indian Armed Forces supplyline from Jammu-Kargil Highway to Siachen after taking the control of important passes in Kargil Sector. The official sources in New Delhi said that the Indian Army has launched the biggest ever combing operation in Kargil villages after completely taking over the 450-Kms long strategic Srinagar Leh road 205 kms north-east of Kashmir Valley. Series of convoys, some of them, carrying arms and ammunition besides troops and supplies were seen moving towards Kargil. The troops since Friday got engaged in Drass also, the world’s coldest township. Highly placed sources in New Delhi said that Pakistanis have captured one of the village near the Line of Control (LoC) while shells continued to land in the border township of Kargil after intervals, breaking the grim silence of the ghost town. The coldest town of Drass where temperature dips to 40 degrees centigrade below freezing point in winter turned real hot at midnight when troops exchanged shells near the sleepy town. This is the first time since 1947 that Drass has come under artillery fire. The firing and shelling was said to be so severe that people took it for Doomsday. According to Indian officials the coldest desert habitat of the entire Ladakh region, is facing two types of attacks – one by the Pakistan Rangers and the other from the “militants” who have already infiltrated. Drass, it may be recalled here, is connected to the Baltistan periphery besides Kishanganga area of Gurez and there is belief that the Kashmiri Mujahideen are in control of both the tracks. Around 10,000 denizens of Drass town and its adjoining villages of Trungan, Baris, Goshan Bambath have fled from the area in panic. They have taken shelter under the sky on banks of river Mushku. Heavy firing in Drass was going on Saturday evening and Indian troops have reportedly launched a full scale war to re-capture the village. The reinforcement has been sent to the area to counter Pakistani attack. Sources said that helicopters were seen air-dropping the army troops near town to strengthen their troops. On the other hand shelling in Kargil town continued. The remaining people who are in the town have been asked to remain confined to the under ground bunkers. Sources said that at least two shells fell just outside the Kargil’s Army helipad. However, there were no reports of any casualties or damage it. They further said that Pakistani troops targeted Iqbal bridge which is just outside Kargil town on Srinagar-Kargil national highway. The war is said to be full scale and casualties on the Indian side are said to be higher.
Pakistan confirms gains in Kargil:
17 May 1999 ISLAMABAD (NNI): Confirming gains at the Kargil sector, Siachen, Pakistan Sunday said that the United Nations Military Observer Group (UNMOGIP) has been informed about the continued cease-fire violation by the Indian Army along with the Line of Control (LoC). The UNMOGIP has been also informed about the enemy’s heavy arms deployment at the LoC, a highly placed defence source told NNI. “Heavy arms deployment could not demoralize Pakistan Army and we are fully prepared and equipped to thwart any aggression at the LoC and Siachen.” Indian troops after having defeated at Kargil sector where Pakistan Army took over five very important Indian posts with a radius of more than 28 km, have opened fire at almost all the sectors of LoC including Neelam and Jhelum Valley, Ponch, Uri, Tithwal and Mendar sectors. The gain of Pakistan Army at Siachen has disconnected communication system of the Indian troops at the world’s highest battlefield with their Brigade Headquarters at Kargil Cantonment. “Sunday (today) firing from across the LoC has killed one and injured two other civilians at Athmuqam, at Uri sector,” the source said. The Indian Army in its usual cowardice move has been targeting the civilian population along with the LoC at Azad Kashmir. Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz yesterday (Saturday) said that Pakistan would take up the cease-fire violation issue with India formally. Talking to newsmen at Lahore airport on his return from Singapore, the minister said that Pakistani High Commissioner in New Delhi had already taken up the issue with the Indian External Affairs Ministry. “The latest Indian firing is against the spirit of the Lahore Declaration,” he said. The latest violation of cease-fire was started by the Indian troops on May 11and has continued near Kargil, a border town in the mountainous Ladakh region at Siachen. The Indian Army is moving heavy arms to get back its five posts from Pakistani soldiers in the area. The Indian troops, however after the gains of Pakistan Army at the Kargil sector have been left with no choice but aerial droop of their troops as the road from Kargil Cantonment has been blocked by Pakistani troops after the latest gains there.
Pak Forces continue to advance in Kargil:
18 May 1999, NEW DELHI: Pakistan continued to occupy the 20 strategic posts it wrested from the Indian Army, even as fierce gun fighting was going on in and around Kargil town and Drass region north-east of Kashmir Valley for the ninth consecutive day. Pakistani troops in the meanwhile have repulsed a fresh attack in which India has to suffer a heavy loss as its five army personnel including a Captain were killed during the attack. On the other hand only two Pak army Jawans were reportedly injured. No contact has so far been established between Pakistani and Indian commanders and it is feared that if situation remained the same for a few more days it may turn into an open war between the two arch rivals. India has for the first time pressed satellite into service to get the actual location of “mujahideen” occupying higher areas. Sources in India’s Defence Ministry here admitted that more than 10 Army personnel have died in the clashes, but they claimed that 15 guirellas have also lost their lives in the heavy firing. Police in Srinagar confirmed the death toll to 45. The people fleeing from the area have, however, reported more than 100 casualities. The encounters between mujahideen and the Indian Army is said to be in progress at four places falling within 30 square kilometers area. India on Monday claimed to have achieved a “major breakthrough” in one of its biggest ever operations in held Kashmir, with “forcing the Pakistan based infiltrators in Kargil and Drass to vacate a ridge line”. An Army spokesman said in New Delhi that “heavy casualities” were inflicted on the “infiltrators” adding that there were “approximately” 250 infiltrators in Batalik sector of Kargil and 100 in nearby Drass area. According to a spokesman “Army convoys along the Zojila pass were moving on smoothly after the “successful operation”. There was no confirmation to this claim from independent sources. Notwithstanding the government claim, road communication from Drass onwards to Kargil continued to be cut off following heavy shelling coupled with heavy firing by the sneakers, who are said to have occupied some vintage points enroute. The Indian Army’s surface contact with Siachen has been consequently cut off. Sources here said that Pakistan continued to have an upper hand in the undeclared war that has been going on in Kargil sector for almost a week now. Reports said that India has for the first time pressed sattalite imagery into service to get the actual positions of 300 mujahideen occupying the higher positions in the mountains. According to sources the satellite imges that have reached to Army Commanders in the area have shown pictures of the cordoned area and have confirmed that around 300 mujahideen divided in six groups are hiding in the area. The reports also said the Indian Army’s and Air Force’s reconnaissance helicopters had failed in ascertaining the number, location and identification of the militants because of “technical matters which are the line of demarcation between the low intensity warfare and a full-fledged war”. There are two-pronged dangers in the mission, it said, “should the helicopters soar high, they can be grounded by the troops and should they keep low they could be targeted by the infiltrators”, it added. The Srinagar Kargil road remained busy for the third consecutive day with the army convoys moving towards Kargil. For the last two days convoys carrying heavy machinery and guns were plying the road round the clock and on Monday hundreds of civil trucks were seen taking soldiers. Army aircraft were said to be hovering over Kargil and Drass towns but so far no aerial action has been initiated by the Army authorities.
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Kargil Conflict News Updates – June 1999
Pakistan Army put on Red Alert to counter Indian offensive:
16 June 1999, ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army has put its defensive formations along the international borders in place with full preparations, as fourth war between Pakistan and India seems around the corner. The decision to take effective necessary steps to move its defensive formations was taken by the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Army Chief, General Pervez Musharraf. General Musharraf met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif early Tuesday morning to apprise him of the threat, state of operational preparedness and high morale of the troops to give fittest response to the Indian forces poised to launch offensive any time at any vulnerable place, if any. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held deliberations with Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz, Army Chief General Musharraf, along with chief of an elite intelligence network, and Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmed and discussed with them both the military and political situations. The step to alert defensive formations was taken as a result of Indian design which came clear on Tuesday when Indian Army fully activated its defensive formations. In military terms, when an army fully activates its defensive formations, it simply means that it has two motives: First, to take strong defensive measures in all the vulnerable areas; and two, to order its strike corps for an offensive in an area which it thinks is suitable for the strike. As the heavy artillery fire continued all along the Line of Control (LOC) with Pakistani troops returning the Indian fire to halt any advance in any area, Indian army seems to have put its pre-strike pressure on Pakistan as a blackmail tactics. “If the war starts, it is likely that it will spill over to a horrifying end and neither of the two countries could afford it,” said a senior military officer. In particular, Indian armoured corps looks ready to open its strike in the desert areas where Pakistan’s defensive formations and strike corps are fully ready for a head-on armoured fight.
Pak Army martyred officers laid to rest:
17 June 1999 QUETTA: Two Army officers, including a major, who embraced martyrdom while fighting against the Indian forces at the Line of Control (LoC), were laid to rest at Hazara graveyard here on Thursday. The bodies of Major Muhammad Ali Hyderi and Captain Zulfiqar Ali were airlifted to Quetta from Rawalpindi on Thursday morning. People belonging to different shades of life attended the last rites of the martyrs. Their funeral was offered at the Army Stadium which was also attended by Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Jan Muhammad Jamali and Corps Lt. Gen. Tariq Pervaiz Khan along with the members of the provincial cabinet and relatives of the deceased. They were buried at the Marriabad Hazara graveyard with full military honours. The chief minister also laid floral wreath at the graves. Wreaths were also laid on behalf of Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee and Chief of Army Staff General Pervaiz Musharraf, Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Tariq Pervaiz Khan, Colonel Commandant of Baloch Regiment, Director General Artillery, Garrison Commander, Commanding officer 30-Baloch Regiment and Commandant Chitral Scouts. Meanwhile, in separate condolence messages Balochistan Governor Miangul Aurangzeb and Chief Minister Jan Muhammad Jamali prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and give courage to the bereaved family to bear the loss with equanimity.
Heavy losses inflicted to Indian Army:
21 June 1999 RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s artillery units, responding to unprovoked and indiscriminate shelling by Indian troops during, the last 24 hours, successfully targeted the enemy’s logistic installations and military convoys in the Dras, Kargil and Batlik sectors. A spokesman for the Inter Services Public Relations stated here on Monday evening that, according to credible information, 13 Indian soldiers were killed and many wounded. The spokesman added that as a result of the highly effective counter-bombardment, the enemy ‘s fuel storage depot and several vehicles were also destroyed and their debris could be seen burning from miles away. Giving details, the spokesman said the Indian army had again targeted innocent civilians, this time in the localities of Dudnial, Kot Katerah and adjoining areas. One person was killed and seven others, including two women, were injured in the shelling. Responding to a question regarding Indian troop movement close to the international border, the spokesman said: ” All types of movements, whether along the Line of Control or the international border, are being closely monitored.”
Not a single Pak Army post lost lost on Control Line:
23 June 1999 ISLAMABAD: “There is not a single Pakistan army position on the LoC that has been lost,” Pakistan armed forces spokesman Brigadier Rashid Qureshi told BBC. He said: “India has lost its credibility due to issuing ever-changing statements and its frequent claims of achievements in Kargil sector.” Rashid said: “We have heard so much and so many claims by the Indians over the last month and a half that we have come to a stage where not much of what they say is believed here.” In response to a question, he said: “There was an attack by the Indian army on the LoC on one of the Pakistani positions. That attack was beaten back. Yes, we did suffer some casualties and in the process one of our patrols, which had moved out at night, is missing since.” Qureshi said: “First they (Indians) said that Pakistan army had murdered an (Indian) air force officer in cold blood and then handed over the body back; and then they started about six bodies, which had been lying out in the open, after they had been killed for four weeks and they were handed back, and they said that two of the bodies had been mutilated. So, frankly, everyone here in Pakistan takes whatever the Indians say, with a pinch of salt. They have lost all credibility here.” To another question about the taped conversation of two senior Pakistan army officials being displayed by India, Rashid said: “Not at all, because no one believes this. You know, to doctor a tape is not very difficult, and I am sure we could do it if we wanted. This is again part of propaganda ploy that now has reached to such ridiculous proportions that we find it very difficult to believe, and I wonder if you heard or read what that transcript says and these are things that nobody would discuss on a civil line.” About the Indian allegation of organising the intrusion by Pakistan army he said: “That is absolutely untrue and we have been saying this for a long time now and, I guess, as time passes, the world will come to know the truth. So, this is absolutely something that the Indians have brewed up and they say that the Pakistan army is responsible.” He said: “First they termed them as Mujahideen, then Taleban, Islamic militants and finally Pakistan army. So, frankly, I hope they have lost all credibility.”
ICRC to withess return of Indian dead bodies:
23 June 1999 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will invite representatives of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in case of return of bodies of Indian soldiers in future, Director-General ISPR Brig Rashid Qureshi said on Wednesday. He told a news briefing in Rawalpindi that the decision had been taken after India’s wild accusations of mutilation of its soldiers’ bodies returned by Pakistan. “We did not expect that Indian leaders will level unfounded and malicious allegations,” he said. Pakistani troops, he said, had recovered the bodies of six Indian soldiers, left behind by their colleagues.
Indian attack repulsed in Bajwat sector of Sialkot:
23 June 1999 SIALKOT: The Pakistan Army and Chenab Rangers repulsed an attack of Indian security forces on Bajwat sector on Wednesday. Two residents of Dera Kala and Bhoor were seriously injured by the Indian firing and were admitted to the CMH Sialkot, while 10 beds in all hospitals of Sialkot and Narowal districts had been reserved for victims of Indian firing. The Indian security forces also fired mortars while an India-made bomb was defused in Patoli village, Bajwat sector. Firing continued between the Indian security forces and the Chenab Rangers on Harpal, Salian, Salim, Akhnore, Umranwali, Thathi Mahindarwal, Sujeet Garh, Suragpur, Chaprar, Umbrial, Chaprar, Zafarwal, Shakargarh and other sectors while 95 per cent villages had been vacated. Kingra More, Merajkey and Bajwat roads are still closed to all kinds of traffic. AP adds: India’s heavy artillery guns stare across the barbed wire fence at Pakistan. From their towers, the Pakistani heavy weapons stare back. For the first time in nearly 30 years, the border between the uneasy neighbours is taking on signs of another possible war. There are reports that India has deployed 35,000 fresh troops on their side of the border. Residents on both sides have been fleeing border villages. The Pakistan Rangers, guarding the border at Sialkot — more than 160 km southwest of the fighting at Tiger Hill — said they repulsed the Indian attacks last week. The fighting sent a wave of villagers to Lahore. At the Sialkot border, there were signs of a Pakistani buildup, with residents reporting truckloads of fresh troops arriving. Meanwhile, the fighting has caused large displacements of residents on both sides of the border. As many as 70 villages along the Pakistani side have been evacuated as residents fled with their belongings.
Indian Army suffering badly in Kargil:
29 June 1999 WASHINGTON D.C.: A report in Washington says that India has suffered so badly in Kargil at the hands of Pakistani military forces that the only way out for it is to attack Pakistan on a large scale. The spectacle of hundreds of bodybags of Indian soldiers coming down from the mountains in Kargil was creating an intense public pressure on the Government in New Delhi to react. “New Delhi will be compelled to attack Pakistan if Islamabad failed to withdraw its forces from the Indian side of the Line of Control. This was the sum and substance of an alarming letter that Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee wrote to President Clinton,” The Washington Post reports. The contents of this letter were conveyed to Clinton in Geneva. According to the newspaper, as he was delivering a speech to the International Labour Organisation, his National Security Adviser Sandy Berger “slipped out to receive the alarming letter.” The letter stoked rising American fears that India, having lost more than 100 troops, would “storm across” the ceasefire line that divides Kashmir or open a second front elsewhere on its border with Pakistan. Such an escalation could effectively scuttle the Administration’s dwindling hopes of a “constructive new relationship” between South Asia’s two new nuclear powers. The Vajpayee letter seems to have had an immediate impact as the Administration’s foreign policy engine was thrown into high hear.
Two IAF fighter jets violate Control Line:
29 June 1999 ISLAMABAD: On the 46th day of present hostilities between Pakistan and India on the Line of Control (LoC), two Indian aircraft on Monday violated Pakistan’s airspace in Kargil-Drass sector, however, the aircraft returned to Indian held Kashmir without dropping any bombs. Pakistan has warned that any violation of its airspace will get a swift response. Pakistan had on an earlier occasion shot down two intruding Indian MiG fighter aircraft in the last week of May. Pakistan, said a spokesman of Inter-Services Public Relations, reserved the right to take appropriate defensive measures if such violations were repeated. It was also announced that both the intruding aircraft left the area without dropping bombs. Two Indian fighters — a MiG-21 and a MiG-27 — were shot down on 27 May 1999 when these aircraft intruded into Pakistani airspace, while the third crashed on its way back.
The intruding aircraft were shot down by Anza-II SAMs of the Pakistan Army Air Defence Command. Meanwhile, Pakistan army has destroyed a petrol depot of Indian army in Kargil-Drass sector. The depot was destroyed as a result of retaliatory fire of Pakistan army.
Pak positions on LoC create vulnerability for Indian Army:
30 June 1999 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military positions on a few peaks on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control have created a permanent vulnerability for India on Drass- Kargil road which is not acceptable to the Indian Army. Pakistan Army had received intelligence reports eight months ago that the Indian Army was planning to attack the peaks on Pakistani side of LoC as they wanted to secure their supply line to their troops on Siachen, said Director General Inter Services Public Relations Brig. Rashid Qureshi at a briefing here Tuesday. He said Pakistan Army took positions on these peaks on this side of LOC and now could see every vehicle which moved on Drass-Kargil road. Pakistan was determined to defend every inch of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, said Brig. Qureshi. Pakistan is willing to take UN Observers to these positions but they were not allowed to move ahead by the Indian artillery fire, he said. If India captures these peaks , Drass-Kargil road will be free from Pakistani fire, he said. It were Indians who had been firing on everything they saw across the LOC, he added. Indians, he said, had to store their food and ammunition for their troops at Siachen for six months by September this year because in winter all communication was blocked.
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Kargil Conflict News Updates – July 1999
Pakistan contacts ICRC for return of bodies::
16 July 1999, ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday reiterated its demand by calling upon India to return the bodies of Captain Karnal Sher Khan and others which are being kept by it against all norms of decency and diplomatic behaviour. Billing it as “extremely regrettable and unfortunate” Foreign Office spokesman Tariq Altaf told a briefing along with Director General ISPR Brigadier Rashid Qureshi that there “is no indication when the bodies will be made available”. He said the DGMOs contacted on Friday afternoon and Pakistan reiterated its demand to return the bodies of its men or even of the Mujahideen. Indian DGMO, he said, told his Pakistani counterpart that he would try but “the bodies were still with the Indians.” On the identification of bodies, he said, the body of Captain Sher had been identified by Pakistan and his identification card number had been communicated to them. But Indian claim that the second body was that of Captain Imtiaz was false as Imtiaz was wounded and was recovering in a hospital in Pakistan. Pakistan was in touch with the International Committee of the Red Cross to ask India to handover the bodies to it, said the spokesman. The disengagement of Mujahideen and Indian Army in Kargil-Drass Sector will take a couple of more days, DG ISPR, Brigadier Rashid Qureshi told the briefing. The phased disengagement starting from Kaksar to Mushkoh sectors and then finally to areas opposite Drass-Batalik sectors were supposed to be completed in a few days, he said. There has been no fire along Kaksar, Mushkoh and opposite Drass-Batalik Sectors during the last 48 hours. He, however, said one captain of Pakistan Army was seriously injured during an exchange of fire in Mushkoh Sector on Wednesday and embraced martyrdom while en route to hospital. Rashid said India has been claiming to have in possession bodies of 68 Pakistani officers and soldiers. “It is ridiculous as to how come they have the bodies of 68 Pakistani soldiers while only 24 of our men are missing.” The army spokesman said Indian television networks have been showing the shoulder titles, badges of ranks and division signs of alleged Pakistani soldiers. “Everyone who is a bit aware of the armies in Pakistan and India knows that the officers and soldiers deployed at such positions do not wear shoulder titles even in peace let alone at the time when Indians were firing across the LoC.” He said Indians have been refusing to handover the bodies of the two soldiers which they alleged belonged to Pakistan for identification purpose. “Time and again they were asked to handover the bodies for identification but they asked for strange requirements. “We will be honoured to bury these bodies in Pakistan if they belong to Mujahideen.” Rashid said India claims that it also possessed the body of Brigadier Nusrat Sial “who was killed in a helicopter crash in Skardu”. He said Sial was buried in Jhang. “Have they tunneled from New Delhi to Jhang to retrieve the body.”
Indian propaganda nailed Maj Asim appears infront of media:
16 July 1999 Mehmud Ahmed ISLAMABAD:The Inter-Services Public Relations has nailed the Indian lie about the martyrdom of Major Aasim, defender of an unnamed 18,400 foot peak in the north of Line of Control, and presented him before the news media here on Friday during a briefing at the Foreign Office. Major Aasim, the Indians have claimed time and again, was among the three officers they said had been identified through a letter from his wife with regimental and rank identifications which they said were found on his person. The major was brought to the news briefing by Brigadier Rashid Qureshi, Director General of ISPR who, on return from a visit to the Line of Control, had heard that Aasim had also arrived in the town. The young, stocky, of medium height (5′-5″), bearded, with a slightly curled moustache major had withstood an Indian battalion’s (800 men) onslaught on the post that he had been guarding since January last, with 24 men and two other officers. The Pakistanis vacated the ‘post-on-the-peak’ for re-grouping with fresh troops the following day only to return and evict the 70 Indian occupiers. The incident took place in June last. Pakistan had lost nine soldiers, including Captain Karnail Sher (not Sheikh as mentioned by Indians) but had, from their vantage position, killed nearly 300 Indian soldiers whose bodies were personally counted by Pakistani soldiers. Qureshi said that after the Indians retreated, “we found five of our men missing, including Captain Sher.” The Indians had claimed to have fired nearly 12,000 artillery rounds during the three days of fighting and Brigadier Qureshi, who visited the location on Thursday, said he had seen the surrounding hills scarred. The Foreign Office spokesman present at the briefing said that Pakistan has been able to identify the body of Captain Karnail Sher but the Indians have so far not delivered his coffin. He said Captain Imtiaz Malik, whose body the Indians claim to possess, was also alive, like Major Aasim, and that Brigadier Rashid Qureshi had met with him on Thursday during his visit to the Line of Control. He said Pakistan had contacted New Delhi and said that even if the bodies belonged to Kashmiri freedom fighters, “we would be honoured” to receive them for burial. The spokesman said that the Indians had sent two pictures but those were not identifiable. . Qureshi referred to an Indian claim that they had identified some 30 Pakistan army officers and 38 soldiers. They claim to have the body of Brigadier Nusrat Sial with them in New Delhi whereas the brigadier had died in a helicopter crash near Skardu, reported last month, and was later buried in his home town, Jhang. The Indians, he added, also claim to have the body of his pilot with them. “How have they got these bodies? Have they tunnelled from New Delhi into the graveyards here and retrieved them? This has to be found out,” he quipped sarcastically. Qureshi charged India with playing politics with dead soldiers. “We shot down their military aircraft ten kilometres inside our territory, but we did not do this. We returned the body of their pilot with due respect and also the second pilot, caught alive after bailing out”, he said. He confirmed that Captain Sher had died as a martyr. “He was a brave officer, as vouched by his Company Commander, Major Aasim, who had ordered him to lead the attack on Indian intruders.” Later, Major Aasim narrated very briefly the performance of his soldiers on the peak and told a questioner that the Indians had caught the name of his daughter from the wireless conversation he once had with his wife. While leaving the briefing, the major was identified by Nadeem Kiyani, a CSS officer on loan to the Foreign Office, saying that the two, during their training, had been course mates. The two hugged each other and exchanged pleasantries for a while.
Maj Asim alive, Capt. Sher Khan attains Shahadat:
16 July 1999 Anwar Iqbal ISLAMABAD: The Friday issue of Indian newspapers praised a Pakistani soldier, Captain Karnal Sher Khan, who died on June 28 while defending an 18,400 feet high peak in Kargil sector. He died but Pakistan retained the strategic peak. “Indeed, he was a brave soldier. A very brave soldier,” Brig. Rashid Qureshi, Director General ISPR, told a news briefing here. “He fought fearlessly,” said his commander Major Asim, who defended the unnamed peak with Sher Khan. Asim was one of those Pakistani officers the Indians claimed to have killed but on Friday the ISPR produced him before the media at the Foreign Office to counter the Indian claim. Usually a news story is not dedicated to anyone but this one is. It is dedicated to Captain Karnal Sher Khan and other unsung heroes of the Pakistan Army who gave their lives, so that we could live. Eighteen days after Sher Khan’s martyrdom, another captain, whose name was not disclosed, died while defending another Pakistani post west of Mashkoh. Sher Khan was a son of Swabi. And Asim is from Lahore. Together they faced the Indian attacks for three days and nights but never thought of giving in to a numerically superior and better-armed enemy. They were among those hundreds of officers and thousands of soldiers who volunteered to fight in the war zone. If text books of journalism are to be followed, this is how the joint-briefing at the Foreign Office should have been written: “Cease-fire along the LoC extended for two days to complete the withdrawal of Mujahideen from Kargil”.
India to recommend bravey award for Pakistani soldier:
16 July 1999 NEW DELHI (AFP): The Indian military wants Pakistan to recognise the bravery of one of its soldiers killed in action in Kashmir, a newspaper reported Friday. Indian military officers told The Indian Express in Kashmir’s border region that they had been impressed by the “raw courage” of captain Karnal Sher of Pakistan’s 12th North Light Infantry (NLI). The young officer reportedly launched a fierce counter-attack against overwhelming odds after Indian troops captured the vital Tiger Hills near Kashmir’s disputed border with Pakistan. “It was suicidal for Sher to launch the attack in broad daylight because we could see his movements,” an Indian officer said. “Yet, in the highest of military traditions, he launched the attack. “We are a professional army and respect another professional soldier, even if he is from the enemy side,” he added. “And we would feel happy if a soldier like him gets recognition for his bravery.” The Express said India had made a similar recommendation about another Pakistani officer who had fought “like a tiger” during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. That officer was decorated for valour. Pakistan denies any involvement by its military in the Kashmir conflict, insisting that all those fighting Indian troops along the border are Kashmiri “freedom fighters.”
India slammed for delay in return of dead bodies:
18 July 1999, RAWALPINDI: The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) slammed India for delay in the return of bodies of Pakistani soldiers and their exploitation for propaganda and ulterior motives. “The bodies had been handed over by the Indians after inordinate delay and exploitation for propaganda and other ulterior motives,” ISPR said in a statement here on Sunday. “The Indians had to acknowledge the bravery, selfless devotion to duty and spirit of sacrifice displayed by Shaheed Captain Karnel Sher Khan, who laid down his life in the defence of the motherland,” the statement said. Captain Sher, who belonged to Swabi (NWFP), was commissioned in a battalion of the Sindh Regiment and was performing duties on the LoC. He repulsed several attacks of the enemy on his position. Captain Sher embraced Shahadat during a heroic counter-attack, evicting the enemy from one post. While the Pakistan Army has said Sher Khan attained martyrdom during an Indian attack to cross the LoC. The Indians have their own version of Capt. Sher Khan’s martyrdom. According to Indian Express, the Indian army is contemplating writing to the Pakistan Army about the bravery of its captain who fought valiantly in the Drass sub-sector. “Captain Sher won the respect of Indian officers defending the Tiger Hills feature and the adjoining hills, with his courage and brilliant attack. The officers of both ’8 Sikh’ and ’18 Grenadier’ watched the brave Pakistani captain lead a counter-attack to recapture the feature of the western spur of Tiger Hills on July 7,” the paper said. An officer of the 8 Sikh was quoted as saying that soon after the soldiers of the 8 Sikh recovered the feature on July 7 around 8:00 am, Captain Sher with just a handful of Pakistani soldiers, launched a swift counter-attack. “It was suicidal for Sher to launch the attack in broad daylight because we could see his movements. Yet in the highest of military traditions, he launched the attack. It is a disgrace for any army to be evicted from a post and he wanted to save Pakistani army from that disgrace,” the official said. “Such was the ferocity of his attack that 8 Sikhs had to be reinforced by a platoon of 18 Grenadier. The Pakistan counter-attack was beaten back and 15 of their soldiers were killed . . . under the onslaught of Indian guns, Captain Sher rallied around his men, encouraging them to fight on,” he said. Sher fought till the end till a hail of bullets snuffed life out of him. Even as he fell, his finger was curled around his gun. “We are a professional army and respect another professional soldier, even if he is from the enemy side. And we would feel happy if a soldier like him gets recognition for his bravery,” said the Sikh soldier.
Pak Army repulse Indian attacks in Siachen and Qamar sectors:
19 July 1999 RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Army repulsed two attacks by Indian troops on forward posts in Siachen and Qamar sectors in Pakistani Kashmir Sunday night, an ISPR Press release said Monday. The new incident came a week after the withdrawal of Mujahideen from the Kargil region of Indian-held Kashmir ending a two-month conflict. ISPR said the Indian attacks, which were launched under the cover of heavy artillery shelling late Sunday, were ‘successfully repulsed.’ Pakistani troops fought back, killing 18 Indian soldiers,seven at the Siachen sector and 11 in the nearby Qamar sector, it said. The Press release did not say what the purpose of the Indian attacks was after the recent de-escalation in Kashmir. Observers said it could be an offshoot to the longstanding confrontation between the two armies on the frozen heights, located at an altitude of around 6,969 meters. Pakistan says Indian troops violating the dividing Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir intruded into Siachen in 1984 and it sent its troops in 1989 to stop the Indian ingress. The rival armies have suffered heavy losses in clashes at the world’s highest battlefront with harsh weather claiming many casualties. Fierce artillery duels erupted between Indian and Pakistan troops along the 720-kilometer LoC in May when India launched a military campaign against Mujahideen to regain the heights in the Kargil region. The two-month crisis, which had brought the neighbours to the brink of another war, ended after the Mujahideen vacated the peaks under Islamabad’s persuasion following Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s meeting with US President Bill Clinton on July 4 in Washington. Meanwhile, Indian troops Monday traded gunfire with remnants of Mujahideen still holed up near the disputed border of Indian Kashmir, military sources said in New Delhi. The firing took place at three places in the Mushkoh valley while Indian troops advanced towards the LoC, the Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted the sources as saying. There was no immediate word on casualties. PTI claimed some Pakistani troops also continued to occupy ‘some positions’ in the neighbouring Batalik sector. The firing came a day after Indian government and military officials said that all the Mujahideen had returned to Pakistan. The offensive left more than 1,000 dead on both sides.
Pak Army repulse Indian attacks in Siachen and Qamar sectors:
22 July 1999 NEW DELHI: An Indian Army general admitted that the Mujahideen were still holding some pockets in the three sectors of Drass, Mushkoh and Batalik and did not rule out the possibility of recurrence of tension in Kargil. “We don’t rule out re-escalation but Pakistan has already conceded to the world that they would withdraw to their side of Line of Control and I assume they would abide by what they said,” the Indian Army’s Northern Command’s Lieutenant General H. M. Khanna told newsmen at the Indian corps headquarters. Lt. Gen. Khanna said the Mujahideen ‘intruders’ were holding an important supply route and added: “They have laid mines and booby traps from where they withdrew.” He however strongly denied that aerial strikes were carried out today to evict the Mujahideen. The GOC Northern Command of the Indian Army said there were between 50 to 70 Mujahideen ‘intruders’ at one place while at other pockets the number was nearly 80. He said that all positions in the various sectors of Kargil will now be manned permanently round the year and added, “We have learnt a lesson to never let our guard down.”
Pakistan still dominate Kargil heights:
25 July 1999 LAHORE, Pakistan: The spokesman for the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Brig. Rashid Qureshi, said on Sunday that Pakistan was still dominating the Kargil heights and can effectively tackle any Indian misadventure. “Contrary to Indian claims, we hold strategic heights on our side of the LoC and remain fully prepared to meet any Indian challenge”, he stated at a briefing organized for editors of local newspapers and columnists here. According to him, the two-and-a-half-month conflict in the Kargil sector resulted in the martyrdom of 267 Pakistani troops, 204 sustained injuries while 24 soldiers were on the missing list. Brig Qureshi said that these casualties had resulted on the Pakistani side of the LoC mainly due to artillery shelling by the Indian forces. In comparison, he said, India suffered a severe thrashing and lost around 2,000 troops and as many injured. “There are no bed spaces in military hospitals in the occupied Kashmir towns of Leih, Kargil, Srinagar and Udhampur and the Indians are forced to send the injured to distant hospitals in India,” he said. He further said that India lost at least five fighter aircraft, including a Mirage-2000 and helicopters. The ISPR chief said, according to intelligence reports gathered from across the LoC, the Indians suffered such heavy losses that they ran out of wood to make coffins. “They had to make use of crates of artillery shells to send corpses,” he said. Brig Qureshi narrated in detail the history of the military conflict in Kashmir in the post-Simla era which ultimately culminated in the form of Kargil fighting. He spoke of hostile weather, difficult terrain and inaccessible areas where Pakistan was forced to deploy its forces along the LoC in view of the threat from the Indian occupation forces in Kashmir. He said despite the propaganda that Pakistani soldiers were in the Kargil sector in the guise of Mujahideen, the Indians had not been able to produce even a single body of such person to justify their claims. The ISPR chief rebutted the Indian claims of having buried the bodies of Pakistani soldiers on the Kargil hills. He said that a few of the bodies that India had returned to Pakistan were of those soldiers who had fallen victims during an Indian ambush on the LoC. He said that the disengagement of the Mujahideen had been completed and they had moved elsewhere, but according to reports, they had not come to Pakistani side of the LoC. “Where they have gone, I do not know,” he said. He categorically said that Pakistani military had no leverage over the Mujahideen while acknowledging that reports are still coming in about their skirmishes with the Indian forces. As a result of clashes in Kargil Sector, 2,000 Indian soldiers were killed and an equal number injured while 267 Pakistani soldiers were martyred, 204 injured and 24 are missing.This was stated at a Press briefing jointly addressed by Federal Information Minister Mushahid Hussain, Foreign Office spokesman Tariq Altaf and DG ISPR Brig. Rashid Qureshi.
Pak shells destroy Indian oil depot , India:
26 July 1999 NEW DELHI: A depot of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on the Kargil-Leh Highway was hit by Pakistani shells on Monday morning, causing massive fire in the compound, said Indian official sources. The depot located in the plateau area on the highway was hit at 0230 hours, the sources told Press Trust of India (PTI). The shells landed on barrels of mobile oil, coolant and gear oil, they said. The blaze continued for four hours, they added. A company official said: “The lube oil depot caught fire after being hit by two shells. The roof of the lube oil shed caught fire and was damaged slightly.” The official, who declined to be identified, said the fire was extinguished at about 3:45 am. “The depot had 92 drums of lube oil which have been completely damaged. About 80 of those had been partially damaged in previous shelling,” he added.
Pak Army repulse Indian attack along Control Line:
27 July 1999 ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army has repulsed an Indian attack on its positions on the Line of Control (LoC) in the Kargil sector, an ISPR spokesman said Tuesday. He said during the last 48 hours, the Indian army resorted to intense artillery shelling inside Pakistan territory and tried to attack its positions. “The Pakistan Army took appropriate action and repulsed the enemy attack inflicting heavy causalities on the enemy,” he said. The spokesman said the Indian army suffered heavy loss in men and material. A POL (Petroleum, Oil and Lubricant) depot was set ablaze due to effective counter bombardment by the Pakistani artillery, he said. Four Indian troops were killed as Pakistani gunners intensified shelling of military and civilian zones in Kashmir, officials said on Tuesday. They said two paratroopers and two commandos were killed in overnight artillery attacks in the zone of Batalik where Indian soldiers were demining posts vacated by Mujahideen. Pakistani gunners also fired in the region of Drass, the hub of the fighting between the Mujahideen and the Indian soldiers that erupted on May 9 and continued until Monday. The Army here said that the Indian guns fired in retaliation to the Pakistani artillery attack late on Tuesday night in Batalik and Drass. Troops from the two rival armies also traded small arms fire in Mushkoh Valley on the Line of Control.
Pakistan can still block Drass-Kargil road, Brig Rashid:
28 July 1999 ISLAMABAD: India could not have imposed a blockade to cut off Karachi port during the Kargil crisis as Pakistan had far superior submarines as compared to the Russian-built Indian ones, according to the Director-General, ISPR, Brig. Rashid Qureshi here Wednesday. He was speaking at a three-day workshop on, “Emerging Realities on Kashmir,” which was organised by the Information Services Academy (ISA) and was being participated in by senior journalists from the four provinces. “In no way could they have blockaded Karachi Port,” said Qureshi, “but they did send their submarines into the Arabian sea”. Of the over a dozen Indian submarines, only a few were seaworthy, he said. Pakistan in response to the Indian move had brought into the sea, its eight to nine submarines which were far superior to the Indian ones, he added. Responding to a question as to whether Pakistani troops would man the peaks on the Line of Control (LoC) overlooking the Drass-Kargil road, he replied in the affirmative. “Pakistan will man these posts on the peaks throughout the year,” said the DG, ISPR. Despite the best Indian efforts and repeated attacks along the LoC,” not a single inch of Pakistani territory has been lost,” he said. These jagged icy and razor-thin ridges were occupied by Pakistan in January 1999 to ward off a possible Indian move to capture these posts to secure their vital supply line to Siachen. To another query, he said, Pakistan could still block about 50 to 60 kms long Drass-Kargil road. If the Indians continued to fire on our positions ,”we will continue to retaliate,” he said. “We can still interdict it and we continue to dominate this area,” he added. Indian dumping efforts using the Drass-Kargil road, he said, were suffering owing to Pakistani firing, he said. India has to dump ammunition and food for its troops in Siachen during this period as this Drass-Kargil road remains closed due to inhospitable weather conditions. He said Drass-Kargil was the only area along LoC where Pakistani troops had a dominating position while in all other sectors Indians were poised on higher points. The Indians had all along been shelling and firing on civilians on the Pakistani side of the LoC.
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