BATALIK, JULY 23: The Batalik sector witnessed a fierce battle as the advancing infantry soldiers realised that Pakistan army did not keep its commitment of withdrawal and continued to hold peaks inside the Indian Line of Control (LoC).Firing and artillery exchanges were also reported from Drass, Kaksar and Mushkoh Valley areas where discord was again over the delineation of the LoC. Pakistani soldiers continued to hold stray pockets on some peaks in the sectors, refusing to budge. However, the Indian troops managed to get six bunkers vacated.The infantry soldiers suffered some casualties in the Batalik-Yaldor sub-sector as the peaks suspected to have been vacated were actually found to be heavily defended. Intense artillery action from both the sides was witnessed in the area through the night and also the entire day today. Pakistan is reported to have lost about 25 soldiers in the last night's operations.Sources here said that casualties on the Indian side were also high but so far bodies of onlytwo soldiers had been retrieved. These were airlifted to Delhi this afternoon.The army had been unable to recover the other bodies due to intense firing from Pakistani soldiers occupying the heights. ``The bodies can be seen but we cannot get to them because of heavy firing. We will try to retrieve them tonight,'' a field commander said. The Cheetah helicopters flew repeated sorties in the area, ferrying casualties, both to Leh and Kargil.The officers here said that the reports had suggested that the sector was clear of infiltrators. ``The Pakistani army had assured that they would vacate and even our aerial reconnaissance had indicated that the area was clear. But then we can only be sure when the ground troops occupy the peaks,'' a senior officer said.Though the Army had managed to secure the Muntho Dhalo area in the sector, the peaks around it continued to be under occupation of infiltrators.``It is nothing but Pakistan's attempt to forcibly alter the LoC. Having occupied peaks in the Indianterritory, they insist that they are on their side. But we are strictly going as per the maps which clearly define the LoC,'' the commander added.For the first time, Pakistan shells came close to civilian areas in Batalik. The Batalik village had anyway been deserted and people started leaving the adjoining villages too. The army officers tried to assure them that there was no reason to panic and the situation was under control.``There has been no large scale fleeing of people. But we are determined to restore normalcy at the earliest,'' said the officer resolutely.
