Kargil War

**The Kargil War** also known as the **Operation Vijay** in India, was a war fought between Indian armed forces and Pakistan Army in 1999. The Indian Air Force worked with Indian Army to remove the Pakistan Army and other soldiers from the occupied region in Kargil district.

## Beginning

The cause of the war was the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers and Pakistan backed militants into areas on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) to occupy military posts vacated in the winter. India responded by launching a major military and diplomatic offensive to drive out the Pakistani infiltrators.  Reportedly, the Pakistan infiltration in the Kargil sector was reported by the local shepherds. The Indian Army launched a number of patrols to the area to estimate the extent of the infiltration. Initially, Pakistan blamed the fighting entirely on independent Kashmiri militants, but documents left behind by casualties and later statements by Pakistan's Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff revealed involvement of Pakistani paramilitary forces, led by General Ashraf Rashid. The Indian Army, later on supported by the Indian Air Force, recaptured majority of the positions on the Indian side of the LOC within two months of the conflict that were trespass by the infiltrators, according to official count, an estimated 75%–80% of the intruded area and nearly all high ground was back under Indian control. Fearing large-scale increase in seriousness in the military conflict, the international community, led by the United States, increased diplomatic pressure on Pakistan to withdraw forces from remaining Indian territory.
Faced with the possibility of international separation, the already fragile Pakistani economy was weakened further. The morale of Pakistani forces after the withdrawal declined as many units of the Northern Light Infantry suffered heavy casualties. The Pakistani government refused to accept the dead bodies of many officers, which provoked anger and protests in the Northern Areas. Pakistan initially did not admitted many of its casualties, but Nawaz Sharif later said that over 4,000 Pakistani troops were killed in the operation and that Pakistan had lost the conflict. The Indian casualties during the conflict stood at 527 soldiers killed, and 1,363 wounded.

## End

Pakistan lost the Kargil War. The conflict officially came to an end on July 26, with India regaining its earlier hold on Kargil.

The Kargil war is one of the most recent examples of high-altitude warfare in mountainous terrain.

## Losses

There number of Pakistani people who died is different in different sources. Pervez Musharraf said that 357 soldiers were killed. In early stage, the US Department of State had said about 700 people died.

According to numbers given by Nawaz Sharif, there were over 4,000 dead. His PML (N) party in its "white paper" on the war wrote that more than 3,000 soldiers, officers and mujahideens were killed.

Another big Pakistani political party, the Pakistan Peoples Party, also said that "thousands" of soldiers and irregulars died.

Indian count says that 1,042 Pakistani soldiers killed.

The official losses of India were given to be 527 dead and 1,363 wounded.

## Infobox (military conflict)

- **conflict**: Kargil War
- **partof**: Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts
- **image**:
- **caption**: **Top, bottom:**
Indian soldiers after capturing a hill from Pakistani forces during the Kargil War
Pakistani soldiers with a shot-down Indian
MiG-21 aircraft
- **date**: 3 May – 26 July 1999
()
- **place**: Kargil district, Jammu and Kashmir (state), Jammu and Kashmir, (now Ladakh, India)
- **territory**: _Status quo ante bellum_
- **result**: Indian victory
*India regains possession of Kargil District, Kargil
- **combatant2**:

- **commander1**: Atal Bihari Vajpayee
 V.P. Malik
 Anil Yashwant Tipnis, Yashwant Tipnis
 Nirmal Chander Vij, Nirmal Vij
 Krishnan Pal
 Mohinder Puri
 O. P. Nandrajog
- **commander2**: Nawaz Sharif
 Pervez Musharraf
 Muhammad Aziz Khan, Aziz Khan
 Ashraf Rashid
 Tauqir Zia
- **strength1**: 30,000
- **strength2**: 5,000
- **casualties1**: **Indian figures:**
* 527 killed
* 1,363 wounded
* 1 Kambampati Nachiketa, POW
* 1 MiG-27 shot down
* 1 MiG-21 shot down
* 1 Mil Mi-17 shot down
<hr/>
**Pakistani claims:**
* 1,600 (per Musharraf)
- **casualties2**: **U.S. Department of State, U.S. estimate figures:**
*~700 killed
<hr/>
**Pakistani figures:**
* 453 killed
* 665+ wounded
* 8 Prisoner of War, POWs

<hr/>
**Other Pakistani figures:**
* 4,000 killed (per Nawaz Sharif)
* 3,000 killed (Pakistan Muslim League (N), PML(N) white paper)
* 357 killed (per Musharraf)
<hr/>
**Indian claims:**
* 737–1,200 killed (at least 249 bodies recovered in Indian territory)