Post-conflict, LoC course changed, jockeying for peaks on

Point 5353 in the Drass sector was a bone of contention from the Kargil operations itself. “The Indian Army had made three attempts during the conflict and immediately afterwards to capture it but did not succeed.

The attempts were later abandoned. But it is not that 5353 is inside Indian territory. These are all areas which neither India nor Pakistan occupied permanently before the Kargil conflict. Patrols went and they returned,” an official posted in the Kargil sector told The Indian Express.

Post-Kargil, both India and Pakistan differed over where the LoC actually passed on the ground. One reason for this — as a senior official involved in strategic planning said, — was “the absence of accurate metre maps in 1972, when they used the quarter inch maps. The metre maps are accurate, with true picture-like resolution. Post-conflict, there was a difference in interpretation, if not in briefing rooms, then on the ground. One pencil line mark is a kilometre-thick on the ground as per the old map,” he said.

Therefore, even after Defence Minister George Fernandes and the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) announced on July 26 that the Kargil war had been won, the jockeying for peaks continued. In fact, in some sectors like Batalik and beyond in Turtuk, this went on till as late as the end of September and early October. “We occupied what we could and they held what they could. The LoC does not actually pass on the ground today where it was marked on the map,” he added.

In the euphoria of the victory, the Army tried to capture peak 5627 and the Shangruti complex, both features which provide Pakistan a deep view inside Indian territory like peak 5353 in Drass. “From their height, they dominate the Handangbrok valley and also provide better observation. Despite artillery pounding, even post-Kargil they could not be dislodged,” sources said.

The para-commando formations were even tacitly launched across the LoC to capture strategic heights both in Drass and Batalik sub-sectors in the last phases of the conflict and immediately afterwards. “These are hostile peaks at altitudes between 16,500-17,500 feet above sea level. Most, including peak 5353, are unapproachable from the Indian side. The mountains rise gradually from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) territory and peak in India. The LoC is very clear on who is supposed to be and where. But the problem came with its interpretation is only because both India and Pakistan wanted to grab the best height for future advantage,” an official in the Army headquarters said.

While at the meetings of the DGMO at Wagah last July, the two countries decided to keep a buffer no-man’s land, neither stuck to it and both alleged that the other violated it first. Before snowfall last October, both India and Pakistan had occupied what was thought to be crucial heights. “With the melting of snow, small patrols were dispatched to see what could be held even now, but Pakistan is maintaining a strong presence on the heights. Naturally, every peak cannot be occupied since more than immediate occupation there is the question of sustenance of troops. There has to be a line of supply too,” he said.

The Army even air-dropped a snowmobile at 17,000 feet in Batalik to counter Pakistani occupation of peaks so that troops could be reinforced faster in Batalik. War is all about gains and losses. Pakistan is not a Lilliput army and we are no giant robots. There have been gains and losses but since we are a larger army and more densely deployed, the gains are more,” he said confidently.

In fact, even Pakistan has complained to the United Nation Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) about India’s “aggression” and occupation of peaks in PoK in the Mushkoh valley and Batalik sub-sectors. “We have learnt that UN teams have already visited a site in Mushkoh valley,” sources said.

The Army says there is no question of trying to get back or return any peaks or talking about it either at local or international levels. “Things will stand where they do today unless we go to war again,” the official from Army headquarters added.