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Kargil War

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The Kargil War also known as the Kargil conflict,[note (I)] was a war fought between Indian armed forces and Pakistan Army in 1999. Pakistani regiments involved in the Kargil War were Northern Light Infantry, Sind regiment, Azad Kashmir regiment, Baloch Regiment, Gilgit Scouts, Chitral Scouts, Bajaur Scouts, troops from Special Service Group, Regiment of Artillery. The Pakistan Army also used artillery support from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.[1]

Kargil War
Part of the Kashmir conflict and the India–Pakistan conflict

Pakistani troops retrieve the wreckage of Indian MiG-21 jet in Hunzi Ghund. May 1999
Date3 May – 26 July 1999
(2 months, 3 weeks and 2 days)
Location
Kargil district, Jammu and Kashmir, (now Ladakh, India)
Result Indian victory
Territorial
changes		 Status quo ante bellum
Belligerents
 India  Pakistan
Non-state allies:
United Jihad Council
Commanders and leaders
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
V.P. Malik
Yashwant Tipnis
Nirmal Vij
Krishnan Pal
Mohinder Puri
O. P. Nandrajog		 Nawaz Sharif
Pervez Musharraf
Aziz Khan
Ashraf Rashid
Tauqir Zia
Units involved
Indian order of battle Pakistani order of battle
Strength
30,000 5,000
Casualties and losses

Neutral claims:

  • 600 killed[2]
  • 1,800 wounded[2]
  • 2 aircraft[2]
  • 1 helicopter[2]

Indian figures:

Pakistani claims:

  • 1,600 (per Musharraf)[7]

Neutral Claims:

  • 400 casualties[2]

Pakistani figures:

Indian claims:

  • 737–1,200 killed (at least 249 bodies recovered in Indian territory)[12][13][14]

Beginning

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It took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and along the Line of Control, starting on 3rd of may 1999. The cause of the war was a series of events that worsened the already existing Indo-Pakistani relations. India had violated agreements concerning the Kashmir conflict before. In Jammu and Kashmir, the Line of Control resulting from the cease-fire of December 17, 1971, shall be respected by both sides without prejudice to the recognized position of either side. Both sides refrain from the threat of use of force in violation of this Line." India's move into Siachen in 1984 was a flagrant violation of this agreement. It had breached the agreement of LOC by perpetuating aggression in Neelum Valley as well and finally in Kargil. To put a stop to India's actions, the Pakistan army went on, although without proper coordination with its government. Pakistan clearly did not win the war militarily as well as politically and diplomatically. However, confusions still remain to this day as to who won the war but based on military action alone it was a decisive victory for India as India successfully regained most of the intruded territory and was also successful in pushing back both Pakistani and Pakistani based militants back on the other side of LoC. Pakistani soldiers and Pakistan backed militants got into areas on the Indian side of the Line of Control to occupy military posts vacated in the winter. India responded by launching a military and diplomatic offensive to drive out the Pakistani forces. The Indian Army launched a number of patrols to the area to estimate the extent of the infiltration. The Indian Army recaptured majority of the positions on the Indian side of the LOC within two months of the conflict according to official count, an estimated 75%–80% of the intruded area and nearly all high ground was back under Indian control while Pakistan lost all control over the Kargil area due to orders to withdraw from the Kargil area. Fearing large-scale increase in seriousness in the military conflict, the international community, led by the United States, increased diplomatic pressure on Pakistan to withdraw forces from remaining Indian territory.[15][16] The Pakistani casualties in the war were around 400 while the Indian casualties during the conflict stood at more than 587 soldiers.[17]

Pakistan lost the Kargil War. The conflict officially came to an end on July 26,[18][19] with India regaining its earlier hold on Kargil.[20]

The Kargil war is one of the most recent examples of high-altitude warfare in mountainous terrain.

According to the neutral claims Pakistan suffered from 400 casualties and India suffered from 600 killed and 1,800 wounded as well as 2 aircraft destroyed and 1 helicopter.[21]

References

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  1. ↑ Bearak, Barry (17 July 1999). "India Buries Soldiers That Pakistan Won't Claim". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Cloughley, Brian (January 5, 2016). A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections (5th edition). Carrel Books. ISBN 978-1631440380.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  3. ↑ Chakraborty, A. K. (21 July 2000). "Kargil War Brings into Sharp Focus India's Commitment to Peace" (PDF). Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  4. ↑ Fernandes, George (28 November 2002). "Soldiers Killed in Kargil War". Parliamentary Questions, Lok Sabha. Parliament of India. Starred Question No 160. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  5. ↑ "Complete Roll of Honour of Indian Army's Killed in Action during Op Vijay". Indian Army. Archived from the original on 22 December 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  6. ↑ Fernandes, George (8 December 1999). "Soldiers Killed During Indo Pak Wars". Parliamentary Questions, Lok Sabha. Parliament of India. Unstarred Question No 793. Archived from the original on 16 February 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  7. ↑ "Musharraf claims Kargil was a big success militarily for Pakistan". Greater Kashmir. 1 February 2013. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "Pak quietly names 453 men killed in Kargil war". Rediff News. 18 November 2010. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "Pakistan Army admits to Kargil martyrs". NDTV. Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  10. ↑ "PAKISTAN ARMY". pakistanarmy.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 28 April 2024. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
  11. ↑ "Musharraf now has Pak's Kargil toll: 357". indianexpress.com. 7 October 2006. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  12. ↑ Malik 2006, p. 342.
  13. ↑ Pubby, Manu (19 November 2010). "Kargil: Pak suffered most casualties at Batalik". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018. Indian records say a total of 249 bodies of Pakistani soldiers were recovered during the battle but estimates of total enemy casualties is put around 1000–1200.
  14. ↑ Kanwal, Gurmeet (2009). "Pakistan's Strategic Blunder at Kargil" (PDF). CLAWS Journal: 72. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2018. The army recovered 249 dead bodies of Pakistani regular soldiers from the area of operations in Kargil; 244 dead bodies were buried as per military norms with religious rites; five bodies were accepted by Pakistan and taken back
  15. ↑ Wolpert, Stanley (14 Aug 2010). "Recent Attempts to Resolve the Conflict". India and Pakistan: Continued Conflict or Cooperation?. University of California Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-520-27140-1.
  16. ↑ R. Dettman, Paul (2001). "Kargil War Operations". India Changes Course: Golden Jubilee to Millennium. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 119–120. ISBN 978-0-275-97308-7.
  17. ↑ "20 years of Kargil war: India, Pakistan remain tense over Kashmir". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  18. ↑ SarDesai, D. R (2007). India: The Definitive History. Westview Press. p. 450. ISBN 978-0-8133-4352-5. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  19. ↑ Singh, Danvir (Col) (2014). Kashmir's Death Trap: Tales of Perfidy and Valour. Lancer Publishers LLC. ISBN 978-1-940988-13-9. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  20. ↑ Lyon, Peter (2008). Conflict Between India and Pakistan: An Encyclopedia (illustrated ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-57607-712-2. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  21. ↑ Cloughley, Brian (2000). A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-579374-1.

Footnotes

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  • ^ Note (I): Names for the conflict: There have been various names for the conflict. During the actual fighting in Kargil, the Indian Government was careful not to use the term "war", calling it a "war-like situation", even though both nations indicated that they were in a "state of war". Terms like Kargil "conflict", Kargil "incident" or the official military assault, "Operation Vijay", were thus preferred. After the end of the war however, the Indian Government increasingly called it the "Kargil War", even though there had been no official declaration of war. Other less popularly used names included "Third Kashmir War" and Pakistan's codename given to the infiltration: "Operation Badr".
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