Pakistan's Historic Admission After Years Of Denial, Says It Was Involved In Kargil War

Rawalpindi: In a historic admission, Pakistan for the first time in 25 years acknowledged its role in the 1999 Kargil war with India. Speaking at event, Pakistan 's Army Chief Asim Munir admitted his country’s role in the Kargil war.

Addressing an event on September 6, General Asim Munir admitted that Pakistani Army was involved in the 1999 Kargil war. Listen to Asim Munir’s statement on Kargil war.

In his statement, Asim Munir said that Pakistani soldiers sacrificed lives in the 1999 Kargil war as he mentioned other wars. 

"The Pakistani community is a community of braves which understands the importance of freedom and how to pay for it. Be it 1948, 1965, 1971 or the Kargil war of 1999, thousands of Shuhadas (martyrs) have sacrificed their lives for Pakistan and Islam," he said during the event in Rawalpindi.

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

India recaptured border posts occupied by Pakistani infiltrators 

The 1999 Kargil war ended with India recapturing the border posts occupied by Pakistani infiltrators. India celebrates the victory as Vijay Diwas on July 26.

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.

Munir, in his address, also said the country would “not allow political differences to turn into hatred.” He asserted that the strong relations between the army and the public would act as the foundation to defeat any enemy trying to create rifts between the two.

“The relation between the armed forces and the nation is of heart,” he said, adding that the nation always strengthened the army in all fields including, “rescue works in the events of natural disasters, foreign hostilities or war against terrorism.” Pakistan Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif was also present at the ceremony, which was attended by the army’s top brass, senior military and governmental officials, and families of soldiers, among others.

Army pays tributes to Kargil heroes 

In July, Army paid rich tributes to the soldiers who lost their lives in the 1999 Kargil War against Pakistan at its various formations across the Jammu region as India celebrated 25th anniversary of the war.

On July 26, 1999, the Indian Army announced the successful culmination of "Operation Vijay", declaring victory after a nearly three-month-long battle on the icy heights of Kargil in Ladakh.

The solemn ceremonies to mark Vijay Diwas were held at the Balidhan Stumbh in Jammu, Rajouri, Akhnoor and Ramban. Officials of the Army, police and administration as well as ex-servicemen laid wreaths at memorials for the fallen soldiers.

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With inputs from PTI