General Asim Munir, the Pakistani army chief, who is currently in service, stated that his force had participated in the Kargil war as he listed the 1999 conflict with India among the major wars fought with the eastern neighbour. Munir, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) was speaking during the Defence and Martyrs Day event here at Rawalpindi on Friday.
The 1999 Kargil conflict had pushed Pakistan and India to the brink of nuclear conflagration. Pakistan claimed that it withdrew after the US stepped in to calm strained relations while India declared a decisive victory in the war.
During his speech, General Munir discussed the Kargil war and subsequent wars with India, as well as the army’s responsibility in protecting the country with the support of the people of Pakistan. “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 first distanced itself from the conflict by claiming that only private freedom fighters were involved in it. But shortly, the scope of the conflict made it clear that two nations’ forces were engaged in combat.
The Pakistan Army was expressly mentioned in the 2006 book ‘In The Line Of Fire’, authored by then-army chief Pervez Musharraf, who led the force during the Kargil conflict. Musharraf had sent in the Northern Light Infantry men in the Kargil theatre of war.
Following the Kargil war, Pakistan bestowed upon Captain Karnal Sher Khan of the 27th Battalion, Sind Regiment and Havaldar Lalak Jan of the Northern Light Infantry, the nation’s highest gallantry medal, the Nishan-e-Haider.
(with PTI inputs)