Did Pakistan Army Just Admit Its Role In Kargil War For The First Time?

New Delhi: A quarter of a century has passed by since Indian Army achieved a famous victory in the Kargil War.

For the first time, Pakistan Army may just have acknowledged its involvement in the deadly conflict with India.

The ‘admission’ came from Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir during a Defence Day speech on Friday.

“In the 1948, 1965, 1971, and Kargil wars between India and Pakistan, as well as in Siachen, thousands have sacrificed themselves in these conflicts,” General Munir said at the Pakistan Army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi.

All these years, Pakistan denied direct military involvement, referring to the infiltrators as ‘Kashmiri freedom fighters’ or ‘mujahideen.’

Islamabad had also claimed that Pakistan forces were “actively patrolling” while “tribal leaders” occupied the heights.

The Kargil War, fought between May and July 1999, saw

Pakistani troops infiltrated the Indian side of Line of Control in Kargil district of Ladakh (erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir) in early May, 1999.

The conflict went on till July 26 before Indian forces, under ‘Operation Vijay,’ completely flushed out the infiltrators, forcing them to withdraw from strategic posts.

Then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif openly criticised the operation, which many described as a strategic ‘blunder’ by Pakistani Army and Gen. Pervez Musharraf.