Pakistan Army Chief acknowledges role of Pak army in Kargil war

Islamabad: In a rare public acknowledgement by a serving Pakistani army chief, General Asim Munir has mentioned the involvement of Pakistan army in the Kargil war as he listed the 1999 conflict with India among the major wars fought with the eastern neighbour.

Munir, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) was speaking during the Defence and Martyrs Day event here at Rawalpindi on Friday.

The Kargil conflict of 1999 had brought India and Pakistan to the brink of nuclear conflagration. Pakistan says it pulled out after the US intervened to cool the frayed tempers while India claims a decisive victory in the war that took place in the Himalayan heights.

In his speech, General Munir highlighted the role of the army in defending the motherland with the support of the people of Pakistan and also touched upon various conflicts with India, including the Kargil war.

“Indeed Pakistani nation is a courageous and bold nation, which understands best the importance of independence and how to protect it at any price. Whether the Pak-India wars of 1948, 1965, 1971 and Kargil or Siachen conflict, thousands of martyrs gave sacrifices for the security and honour of the country,” Munir said.

Pakistan had initially distanced itself from the conflict by saying that only private “freedom fighters” were involved in it. However, soon the scale of fighting revealed that the armies of two countries were fighting against each other.

The 2006 book ‘In The Line Of Fire’ written by then Pervez Musharraf, who was the army chief during the Kargil war, clearly acknowledged the Pakistan Army’s role.

Musharraf had sent in the Northern Light Infantry men in the Kargil theatre of war.

Pakistan awarded Captain Karnal Sher Khan of 27th Battalion, Sind Regiment and Havaldar Lalak Jan of Northern Light Infantry with the highest gallantry award called Nishan-e-Haider after the Kargil war was over.