Thursday, November 18, 2010

Truth will out!

Times of India: In denial till now, Pak quietly names 453 soldiers killed in Kargil War




ISLAMABAD: Eleven years after the Kargil War, the Pakistan Army, which has been denying its role in the conflict, has quietly included the names of 453 soldiers and officers in the battle on its website.

Proof of the involvement of regular Pakistani soldiers in the 1999 Kargil War over a string of strategic heights in the Kargil sector of the Line of Control in 1999 has come from an institution that spent years denying its role in the hostilities with India - the Pakistan Army.

The 453 Pakistani soldiers were shown killed in Batalik-Kargil sector in Jammu & Kashmir.

The names of those who died in Kargil are tucked away in a list of thousands of personnel killed while on duty that has been posted in the "Shuhada's Corner" (Martyrs Corner) of the website.

The very first page of the long list of martyrs includes the names of Capt Karnal Sher and Havildar Lalak Jan, who were both killed on July 7, 1999 in Kargil and awarded Pakistan's highest military award, the Nishan-e-Haider.

Several others were posthumously given other gallantry awards like the Tamgha-e-Jurat (Medal of Courage).

The army also reveals the codename given to the operation to occupy strategic mountains and heights on the Indian side of the LoC - "Operation Koh-e-Paima" or Mountain of Resolve. In some cases, the campaign is also referred to as "Operation Kargil".

A majority of those who died in Kargil were soldiers from the Northern Light Infantry, a formation that was made a regular regiment of the Pakistan Army because of its performance in the 1999 conflict.

It was earlier a paramilitary force formed by the amalgamation of several militias from the Northern Areas or Gilgit-Baltistan.

Several causes are cited for those who died in Kargil - "killed in action", "enemy action", "enemy firing", "enemy artillery shelling" and even "road accident". The list gives the name, rank, unit, and location and nature of death of each casualty.

During the Kargil conflict and in subsequent years, the Pakistan Army insisted that none of its regular soldiers were involved in the hostilities.

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Wasn't the architect of Kargil, Pervez Musharraf, wined and dined by the Indian govt with biryani and kababs on Indian territory This was a man responsible for so many Indian deaths, yet Indians like Burqa Dutt fawned over him.
One more thing - the blood of the Indian soldiers in Kargil had barely dried when Kanwal Rekhi and a gaggle of rich Indians from Silicon Valley flew to Pakistan to open a TiE Chapter there! This is the kind of bozos Indians have for "thought leaders."
India, as a country, does believe in mythology and Bollywood family dramas a lot. We are the devoted and kind big brother who promised the mom on her death bad that we will take care of the young sibling. So, we contiue doing that and keep daydreaming that at the end of the 3 hours, by some miracle or revelation by a long lost nanny (or some action of a powerful uncle), the younger brother will come to his senses and we will be a big happy family walking hand-in-hand into the sunset.

It is a pity that the movie will continue till the end of time.....

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