Pak Army chief admits military's direct role in Kargil misadventure

In what is being seen as a first-of-its kind confession by the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir has admitted Pakistani military's direct role in the 1999 Kargil war against India.

During his Defence Day speech on Friday, Munir mentioned Kargil along with the three wars with India while paying homage to what he termed as "sacrifices rendered through martyrdom" by soldiers of the Pakistan Armed forces.

"Certainly Pakistani nation is a powerful and brave nation, which understands the value of freedom and knows how to sustain it. 1948, 1965, 1971, the Kargil war between Pakistan and India, or the war in Siachen, thousands sacrificed their lives and were martyred for the safety and security of the country," he told the gathering at the GHQ.

Munir's statement is being seen as a first-of-its-kind confession by a sitting Army Chief on the direct role of country's military in the Kargil war, a position Islamabad has refrained from taking for the past 25 years.

So far, Pakistan had denied its involvement in the 1999 war and claimed that it was an action taken by "freedom fighters" of Kashmir.

Former Army Chief General Pervaiz Musharraf always claimed that the Kargil operation was a successful localized action.

During an interview, Musharraf had stated that then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was not taken into confidence and many decisions taken by the armed forces along the volatile Line of Control (LoC) with India did not even require approval of the army chief.

However, Musharraf had admitted the role of Pakistan Army's 10 core FCNA (Force Command Northern Areas) in the entire operation.

"Initially, there was a mujahideen activity in the area. Later on FCNA decided to man the 150 mile vacant area of the Line of Control (LoC). For this, there is no need to get approval or permission from anyone," said Musharraf.

Mushahid Hussain Syed, who was the Information Secretary under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during 1999, also detailed about his government being informed about the Kargil operation through an official communication by the then DGMO (Director General Military Operations).

"When Kargil happened, the formal intimation and briefing that was given to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was given on 17th May 1999 by the DGMO. Before that, voices from India had started to come and there was a realization that something was happening along the Line of Control," said Syed in an interview.

Experts maintain that the Kargil operation will remain a success story for some and a big blunder and mistake for many others. They maintain that Musharraf's claim of FCNA's involvement, which is part of the 10 Core of Pakistan Army and manages Kashmir and the northern areas of the country, is enough confession to endorse the fact, reiterated by the current army chief.

It also remains a fact that many bodies of Pakistan Army soldiers in Kargil were not brought back, prompting their families to raise questions over the reluctance of the Pakistani government and the army to own them.

"Those officers, who came to meet us, we kept asking them to try and bring the bodies of their loved ones back. I believe that they should have tried harder. But they didn’t," said Itrat Abbas, brother of late Captain Farhat Haseeb, the army officer martyred in Kargil, confirming that officers and soldiers of Pakistan Army were deployed in Kargil.

Rehana Mehboob, mother of late Captain Ammar Hussain, admitted that she kept getting calls from the Army Unit and friends of her son during the Kargil war, adding that then Army Chief Pervaiz Musharraf did not even own the operation.

The above-mentioned statements by families and then government officials along with the then army chief are enough evidence to maintain that while then PM Sharif was kept in the dark, the army's chain of command was fully on board about the Kargil operation.