Today(July 26) India celebrates 20 years completion of Kargil war.Twenty years ago on this day(June 26,1999)the Indian army recaptured icy hills of J&K.On this day the army declared that Indian territory free of Pakistani presence after sweeping back the last of the intruders from Batalik & Mushkoh of Kashmir.At least 498 Indian soldiers had been killed.On July 23 1999, fierce fighting continued in Batalik, Drass and the Mushkoh valley.As the pakistani infiltrators refused to gave up their positions along the Line of Control.On May 25,1999,the then Prime Minister of India A. B. Vajpayee had spoken to Sharif on the phone and made it clear to his counterpart Nawaz Sarif that India would not tolerate any intrusion to take place in their territory.
On June 26,1999,India launched airstrikes in Kargil sector to flush out Pakistan-backed infiltrators.Pakistan-backed infiltrators violated the Line of Control (LoC).During the day,Indian Air Force fighters and helicopter gunships fought against the infiltrators, heavily armed.The first airstrikes were carried out in the icy hills of Kargil, Drass and Batalik of kashmir.On May 27,Pakistani forces shot down two Indian fighter aircraft, killing one pilot and capturing another.On May 28, the captured MiG-27 pilot in indian flight suit paraded on state-run Pakistan TV.On May 28, the then Prime Minister of India Atal Behari Vajpayee ruled out withdrawal of airstrikes as a condition for talks with Pakistan.On May 30,The prime minister of India refused United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan suggestion.Annan suggested that he was willing to send special envoys to India and Pakistan to restore peace in Kargil.
On June 1,1999,India suffered major losses with 13 armymen were killed in gun battles in Kargil.Indian Army lost more than 10 army men in a single day.Indian Army engaged in battle to pushed backed pakistani infiltrators at 15,000 ft.On June 3,1999,Pakistan released Indian pilot K. Nachiketa, who had been taken prisoner in the war eight days ago.On June 5,India rejected Pakistan’s proposal to begin talks.On June 6 Islamabad reacted strongly.
On June 8,Pakistan accepted India’s proposal that talks between the two foreign ministers on the Kargil war be held on June 12.On June 10,India accused Pakistan of returning six mutilated bodies of soldiers missing from the Kaksar sub-sector in Kargil.On June 17,India made it clear that Islamabad should be held responsible if there is an escalation of tension along LOC.
On June 19,Indian troops recaptured Peak 5140, the highest point on the Tololing ridge.On June 26,the Indian Army cleared intruders from the easternmost of the four ridges in Batalik sector.
On June 28, Indian Army has foiled a Pakistani attempt to open a new front along the Line of Control in south Siachen.On June 30, Indian forces captured Point5100. Point 5100 is the last height leading to Tiger Hill.On June 4, Indian troops snatched back 16,000-ft Tiger Hill and freed the Srinagar-Leh highway.On July 9,Indian troops captured Batalik after 48 hours of operation.India claimed to have reached the Line of Control (LoC).On July 11 night Pakistan announced that Pakistani infiltrators had begun withdrawing from the Indian side.
On July 15,1999,India says it is willing to hand over bodies of Pakistani soldiers to the Pakistan government Provided Islamabad accepts them as its own.On July 16, more than 500 Pakistan-backed infiltrators, armed with sophisticated weapons have crossed the Line of Control into India.
On July 17, the then defence minister of India George Fernandes announced the conflict had come to an end as the last of the Pakistani intruders had vacated Indian territory.On July 18, India made it clear it was in no mood to declare a ceasefire though the last of the pakistani intruders had pulled back.On July 21,The United states has demanded that Pakistan put an immediate stop to cross-border militant strikes.On July 23,Pakistani infiltrators refused to yield the remaining positions along the Line of Control.Fierce fighting in Batalik, Drass and the Mushkoh valley.On July 25,the army said it cleared the entire Drass sector of intruders, but they lost several lives.Atleast 21 soldiers have died in operations in Batalik and Drass.On July 26, Indian flags were finally hoisted in Mushkoh and Batalik sectors after the Indian army pushed back remaining infiltrators.
