Global InformationKargil War information
 | It has been suggested that Operation Talwar be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2024. |
| It has been suggested that Operation Safed Sagar be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2024. |
| It has been suggested that Kargil Air War be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2024. |
| Kargil War | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Kashmir conflict and the India–Pakistan conflict | |||||||||
 Location of Kargil along the Line of Control in Kashmir | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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 Israel[1] |
 Pakistan | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 K. R. Narayanan(President of India) Atal Bihari Vajpayee(Prime Minister of India)  Gen. Ved Prakash Malik(Chief of the Army Staff)  Lt. Gen. Chandra Shekhar(Vice Chief of the Army Staff)  ACM Anil Yashwant Tipnis(Chief of the Air Staff) |
 M. R. Tarar(President of Pakistan)  Nawaz Sharif(Prime Minister of Pakistan)  Gen. Pervez Musharraf(Chief of the Army Staff)  Lt. Gen. Muhammad Aziz Khan(Chief of the General Staff) | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 30,000 | 5,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
Indian official figures:
Pakistani claims:
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Independent figures:
Pakistani figures:
Indian claims:
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The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict,[note (I)] was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referred to as Operation Vijay (Hindi: विजय, lit. 'Victory'), which was the codename of the Indian military operation in the region.[20] The Indian Air Force acted jointly with the Indian Army to flush out the Pakistan Army and paramilitary troops from vacated Indian positions along the LoC,[21] in what was designated as Operation Safed Sagar (ऑपरेशन सफेद सागर, lit. 'White Sea').
The conflict was triggered by the infiltration of Pakistani troops—disguised as Kashmiri militants—into strategic positions on the Indian side of the LoC,[22][23] which serves as the de facto border between the two countries in the disputed region of Kashmir. During its initial stages, Pakistan blamed the fighting entirely on independent Kashmiri insurgents, but documents left behind by casualties and later statements by Pakistan's Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff showed the involvement of Pakistani paramilitary forces,[24][25][26] led by General Ashraf Rashid.[27] The Indian Army, later supported by the Indian Air Force, recaptured a majority of the positions on the Indian side of the LoC; facing international diplomatic opposition, Pakistani forces withdrew from all remaining Indian positions along the LoC.
The Kargil War is the most recent example of high-altitude warfare in mountainous terrain, and as such, posed significant logistical problems for the combatting sides. It also marks one of only two instances of conventional warfare between nuclear-armed states (alongside the Sino-Soviet border conflict). India had conducted its first successful test in 1974; Pakistan, which had been developing its nuclear capability in secret since around the same time, conducted its first known tests in 1998, just two weeks after a second series of tests by India.
- ^ News reports from Daily Times (Pakistan) Archived 30 July 2012 at archive.today and BBC Archived 23 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine mentioning the Israeli military support to India during the conflict.
- ^ Chakraborty, A. K. (21 July 2000). "Kargil War Brings into Sharp Focus India's Commitment to Peace" (PDF). Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ "Breakdown of casualties into Officers, JCOs, and Other Ranks". Parliament of India Website. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
- ^ "Complete Roll of Honour of Indian Army's Killed in Action during Op Vijay". Indian Army. Archived from the original on 22 December 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
- ^ "Official statement giving breakdown of wounded personnel". Parliament of India Website. Archived from the original on 16 February 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
- ^ "Musharraf claims Kargil was a big success militarily for Pakistan". Greater Kashmir. 1 February 2013. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
- ^ Khan, M. Ilyas (26 July 2019). "Kargil: The forgotten victims of the world's highest war". BBC. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
- ^ a b c "Kargil probe body had sought Musharraf's court martial". The News. AFP. 13 January 2013. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
- ^ Tavares, Rodrigo (2006). Understanding Regional Peace and Security. Göteborg University. p. 297. ISBN 978-9187380679.
the US State Department quoted the Pakistani military casualties at 700, but according to the then PM Nawaz Sharif (quoted in Gulf News, February 2002), the entire Northern Light Infantry of Pakistan was wiped out during the conflict claiming 2,700 lives.
- ^ "Over 4,000 soldiers killed in Kargil: Sharif". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 October 2003. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
- ^ "Pak quietly names 453 men killed in Kargil war". 18 November 2010. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
- ^ "Pakistan Army admits to Kargil martyrs". NDTV. Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ^ "Musharraf now has Pak's Kargil toll: 357". Indian Express. 7 October 2006. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- ^ "Kargil probe body had sought Musharraf's court martial". thenews.com. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- ^ "Tribune Report on Pakistani POWs". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
- ^ Malik, V. P. (2006). Kargil from Surprise to Victory. HarperCollins. p. 342. ISBN 9788172236359.
According to our intelligence estimates, their Army suffered over 737 casualties, primarily due to our artillery fire.
- ^ Pubby, Manu (19 November 2010). "Kargil: Pak suffered most casualties at Batalik". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
Indian records say a total of 249 bodies of Pakistani soldiers were recovered during the battle but estimates of total enemy casualties is put around 1000–1200.
- ^ Kanwal, Gurmeet (2009). "Pakistan's Strategic Blunder at Kargil" (PDF). CLAWS Journal: 72. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
The army recovered 249 dead bodies of Pakistani regular soldiers from the area of operations in Kargil; 244 dead bodies were buried as per military norms with religious rites; five bodies were accepted by Pakistan and taken back
- ^ "How artillery changed the tide of the Kargil war". The Economic Times. 25 July 2017. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
- ^ It is also sometimes referred to as Operation Vijay Kargil so as to distinguish it from Operation Vijay, the 1961 operation by the military of India that led to the capture of Goa, Daman and Diu and Anjidiv Islands.
- ^ http://>.nic.in/content/op-safed-sagar[permanent dead link]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Qadirwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Musharraf, Pervez (2006). In the Line of Fire: A Memoir. Free Press. pp. 90–91. ISBN 0-7432-8344-9.
- ^ Tom Clancy; Tony Zinni; Tony Koltz (2004). Battle Ready. Grosset & Dunlap. ISBN 0-399-15176-1.
- ^ "Pak commander blows the lid on Islamabad's Kargil plot". 12 June 2009. Archived from the original on 20 January 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ "Sharif admits he let down Vajpayee on Kargil conflict". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 10 September 2007. Archived from the original on 30 April 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
- ^ Nawaz, Shuja, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within, p. 420 (2007)