The Kargil War 1999

Since the partition of the British Raj into India and Pakistan, the status of Jammu and Kashmir has been fiercely contested; instead of an established border, there is the Line of Control (LOC) that is practically defined by the respective military presence of India and Pakistan. In their 1971 war, Pakistan suffered a humiliating defeat, losing East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) due to the Indian military intervention as India took possession of several outposts, as a result of which it could interdict movement along the Neelam Valley road on the Pakistani side. Then, in 1984, Indian troops preemptively occupied the Siachen Glacier and beat back Pakistani attempts to dislodge them. From 1989 onwards, Pakistan supported an indigenous insurgency in Indian Kashmir but, a decade later, the insurgency seemed to be faltering. After a series of underground tests during May 1998, both India and Pakistan were openly nuclear armed states and in the following months there were indications the governments would finally normalize their relationship. Instead, while the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers were signing the Lahore Declaration in February 1999, the Pakistani army was infiltrating approximately 2,000 troops across the LOC, in the vicinity of Kargil, to occupy some 130 Indian mountain outposts left vacant during the inhospitable winter months.

Local shepherds first reported the incursions to the Indian army on May 3, 1999. An Indian patrol was sent out to investigate on May 5th, believing the occupiers were irregulars; five Indian soldiers were captured and killed. Shelling and destruction of an ammunition dump in Kargil on May 8th more-or-less confirmed the outposts were being held by Pakistani regulars. In the following days, the extent of the incursion became clear and the Indian government ordered the army to recapture the outposts. Substantial Indian forces were deployed to Kargil but they were neither equipped for nor acclimated to the harsh high-altitude conditions. Initial attempts to retake the outposts failed with high casualties. By the end of the month, the Indian air force was conducting airstrikes, a noted escalation, but these proved relatively ineffective. Meanwhile, the government of Pakistan claimed its troops were not involved and the outposts were likely being held by local insurgents (it is not certain the government knew about the military operation).

The failure of initial Indian attempts to recover the outposts led to the deployment of soldiers better prepared for mountain warfare as well as additional supplies and heavy artillery support for the troops. Intense battles continued through June 1999 as Indian forces recaptured one outpost after another in a slow and methodical series of small unit actions. India also revealed captured documents that proved the outposts were being held by Pakistani regulars as well as intelligence intercepts showing senior generals of the Pakistani army were involved, utterly discrediting the government of Pakistan. At the same time, the Indian government restrained its forces from crossing the LOC on land or in the air, using the threat of doing so in its diplomatic efforts to end the fighting on its own terms. Pakistan refrained from any attempts to reinforce or resupply the outposts, demonstrating its determination to avoid escalation. By the end of June, Indian forces had made significant gains on the ground and the recovery of the remaining outposts was no longer in doubt.

The prime minster of Pakistan met the American president on July 4th in a final attempt to gain support for a cease-fire in place (rather than cease-fire and withdrawal), however the American position was that Pakistan had to withdraw behind the previously established LOC before any further diplomatic efforts could begin. The following day, Pakistan announced the army would withdraw from the Indian outposts around Kargil. Direct discussions between Indian and Pakistani military representatives brought about an agreement on July 11th for the cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Pakistani soldiers. Some of the troops stubbornly refused to withdraw and renewed fighting broke out but by July 26, 1999, the Indian military declared their operation completed and the LOC restored.

Notes

[1] The initiation date is questionable since Pakistan was infiltrating since February. Correlates of War (CoW) takes May 8, 1999 (the Pakistani artillery bombardment) as the start date.

[2] The termination is questionable but the official Indian declaration is usually accepted. CoW sets June 17, 1999 as the end date.

[3] The number of Indian battle deaths varies in the sources from 474 to 533. The lower figure may be soldier battle deaths, excluding officers.

[4] The number of Pakistani battle deaths varies in the sources from 357 (Pakistan estimate) to 700 (Indian estimate). The 453 figure is based on an official listing of war dead from Pakistan that was widely reported.

References

Acosta , 397–415; Bommakanti, 283-328; Chari, 360-4; COW223; Gill, 701-26; Tellis et al, ix-xii.

Marcus P Acosta. The Kargil Conflict: Waging War in the Himalayas. Small Wars and Insurgencies, 18(3). 2007.

Kartik Bommakanti. Coercion and Control: Explaining India’s Victory at Kargil. India Review, 10(3). 2011.

P R Chari. Reflections on the Kargil War. Strategic Analysis, 33(3). 2009.

John H Gill. Provocation, war and restraint under the nuclear shadow: The Kargil conflict 1999. Journal of Strategic Studies, 42(5). 2019.

Ashley J Tellis, C Christine Fair, Jamison Jo Medby. Limited Conflicts Under the Nuclear Umbrella: Indian and Pakistani Lessons from the Kargil Crisis. RAND. 2001.

Category

Inter-State War

Region

South Asia

Belligerents

India, Pakistan

Dispute

Territory

Initiation Date

May 3, 1999^[1]

Termination Date

July 26, 1999^[2]

Duration

2 months, 24 days
(85 days)

Outcome

Negotiated Settlement
(Indian victory)

Fatalities

Total: 980
India: 527^[3]
Pakistan: 453^[4]

Magnitude

3.0