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Kargil War was one of the actions taken by Pakistani Army that was devastating in many ways. It happened in the backdrop of the visit by Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Pakistan for the Lahore Summit.
It reiterated to India as to how it was impossible to ever believe and depend on any statement by the Pakistani civilian government, even if the Indian side feels it is trust-worthy. What happens in the real establishment is a whole another thing.
In this discussion between Naseem Zehra, Shahid Lateef and Ejaz Haider with the anchorperson Mooed Pirzada some astounding things come out. At the start of the discussion, however, Lt. Gen. (retd) Shahid Aziz, who was the Director-General Analysis at ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) at the time of Kargil War, exposes Pakistan’s lies and duplicity on Kargil.
He accuses Pervez Musharraf as being almost juvenile and completely lacking strategic thinking. He also calls him out to be a liar. The war was a big loss for Pakistan and a great strategic victory for India.
Naseem Zehra comes into the discussion as someone who has done some research on the whole Kargil issue and has done detailed interviews with many Generals of the Pakistani army and understand the details.
What she says is very significant. Interestingly, Ejaz Haider also shares some “off the record” discussion that he had with General Tauqeer Zia in the course of this program on the operational details which is very interesting.
Here are some of the main bullet points:
It is fairly obvious that the whole planning for Kargil War within the Pakistani Army was done with a certain level of chutzpah and juvenile sense of superiority. Which mirrored the mindset in the Army during the planning for 1965 war. None of their assumptions panned out. And in both the wars they lost badly. In one place Naseem Zehra has said that more people from Pakistan died in Kargil than in 1971 war! That is a big human loss for a country that started the war in the first place with all the elements of surprise.
For those who were not there, let us start with a timeline of the whole thing. Here is a day by day timeline of the Kargil War. How it started and how it went about in major milestones.
The major Indian victories have been marked with an asterisk. They are important to remember.
May 3, 1999
May 3, 1999May 5, 1999
May 5, 1999May 9, 1999
May 9, 1999May 10, 1999
May 10, 1999May 15, 1999
Sometime in mid-May May 15, 1999May 26, 1999
May 26, 1999May 27, 1999
Flt. Lt. Kambampati Nachiketa taken POWMay 27, 1999May 28, 1999
Four air crew dead May 28, 1999June 5, 1999
indicating Pakistan’s involvementJune 5, 1999June 6, 1999
June 6, 1999June 9, 1999
June 9, 1999June 11, 1999
with Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Aziz Khan in Rawalpindi, as proof of Pakistan Army’s involvement.June 11, 1999June 13, 1999
June 13, 1999June 15, 1999
June 15, 1999June 29, 1999
Indian Army moves towards Tiger HillJune 29, 1999July 2, 1999
A three-pronged attack undertakenJuly 2, 1999July 4, 1999
July 4, 1999July 5, 1999
Nawaz Sharif orders withdrawal after meeting ClintonJuly 5, 1999July 7, 1999
July 7, 1999July 11, 1999
Pakistan starts complete withdrawal July 11, 1999July 14, 1999
July 14, 1999July 26, 1999
Indian Army announces complete eviction of Pakistani intruders July 26, 1999
This will give the readers a better sense of what the analysts are discussing.
If people like Gen Aziz had not written anything on this or the truth otherwise – from the Pakistan side – had not come out, there were enough anchors and Pakistanis (majority, in fact, almost all barring a handful) who used to insist that Kargil was a brilliant move from Pakistan!
So, the top core did go along with the Army decision to go to Kargil heights, even if they had reservations at that time. The almost racist and bigoted anti-Hindu thinking in Pakistani mindset about “Indian Baniye” is the basis of how Pakistan has always engaged with India – and put it on the backfoot. That is PRECISELY the mindset that created the Mumbai Attacks as well. And, the establishment of that time with Dr. Singh at the helm, did not disappoint them with its pusillanimity!
Not till the Modi government, has India ever stood upto the bullying ways and tactics of Pakistan. Ways that were at the root of conjuring up a juvenile fantasy like the Kargil War and that it will secure Kashmir for Pakistan!
Featured Image: Wikipedia – author PMO, Government of India “Indian soldiers in Batalik during the Kargil War”
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