The Kargil War was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan. It took place between May and July 1999 along the Line of Control. The cause of the war was the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers disguised as Kashmiri militants into positions on the Indian side of the LOC. The Indian Army, later supported by the Indian Air Force, recaptured a majority of the positions.
About Kargil War in brief
The Kargil War was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan. It took place between May and July 1999 along the Line of Control. The cause of the war was the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers disguised as Kashmiri militants into positions on the Indian side of the LOC. The Indian Army, later supported by the Indian Air Force, recaptured a majority of the positions. The war is the most recent example of high-altitude warfare in mountainous terrain, and as such posed significant logistical problems for the combating sides. It is also the sole instance of direct, conventional warfare between nuclear states. 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 their first known tests in 1998. In an attempt to defuse an increasingly belligerent atmosphere, both countries signed the Lahore Declaration in 1998, which defused the situation. In the 1990s, escalating tensions and conflict due to separatist activities in Kashmir, which were supported by Pakistan, led to some military outposts on the surrounding ridges and the resulting skirmishes in the 1980s and 1990s. The conflict is also referred to as Operation Vijay, which was the name of the Indian operation to clear theKargil sector. The area that witnessed the infiltration and fighting is a 160-kilometre long stretch of ridges overlooking this only road linking Srinagar and Leh.
The military outpost on the ridges above the highway were generally around 5,000 m high, with a few as high as 5,485 m. Apart from the district capital, Kargill, the populated areas near the front line in the conflict included the Mushko Valley and the town of Drass, southwest of KargIL, as well as the Batalik sector and other areas, northeast of Kartalik. The region was targeted partly because the terrain was conducive to the preemptive seizure of several unoccupied military positions. With tactically vital features and well-prepared defensive posts atop the peaks, a defender on the high ground would enjoy advantages akin to that of a fortress. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the two nations signed the Simla Agreement promising not to engage in armed conflict with respect to that boundary. A road exists between the towns of Skardu and Kargu which was capable of providing logistical and artillery support to Pakistani combatants. The road was closed in 1949, but a road still exists between Kargul and SkardU, which is just 173 km from the Pakistani-controlled town of Skadu. The town of K Kartu is located 205 km from Sringar, facing the Northern Areas across the LOC, and the Indian national highway connecting Srinag and Leh cuts through Kartu. Kartil has a continental climate. Summers are cool with frigid nights, while winters are long and chilly with temperatures often dropping to −48 °C.
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This page is based on the article Kargil War published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 25, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
