Peace in Sight

The signing of the Lahore Declaration

On February 21st, 1999, Pakistan Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif and Indian Prime Minister, Mr. A. B. Vajpayee signed the Lahore Declaration. The declaration planned to bring the two countries together after nearly 50 years of war through mutual restoration of ties and disarmament. After one year of tensions due nuclear testing, by both countries, this landmark agreement was the beacon of hope and peace for the two nations. However, another force was simultaneously working to destroy this peace initiative: General Musharraf.

The Betrayal

General Musharraf was the head of the Pakistan armed forces at the time. In the spring of 1999, While India was busy discussing peace initiatives, Pakistan mobilized their Northern Light Infantry and occupied Indian border posts in the mountains of Kashmir, that are normally abandoned by the Indian army during the severe winters in the Himalayas. By the time, Indian army intelligence had realized this several hundred Pakistani intruders had occupied positions in Indian territory. In addition, Pakistan heavily shelled the area in order to provide cover for their troops, killing many Indian villagers along the border and forcing thousands more to flee from their homes.

Over the next few months, India using the large amounts of army and air forces, flushed out and eliminated the 5,000 Pakistani intruders. In addition, to make their uphill battle even more difficult, the Indian army was given orders not to cross into Pakistani territory as to make sure they did not breach international law. However, Pakistan with their armed incursion clearly did not respect or abide by international law.

Denial

Throughout the episode, Pakistan denied to international organizations and press that it had sent its troops or had planned it this massive incursion. Instead, they claimed that these were Kashmiri militants. However, as time progressed it became quite obvious that this was not the cases. Indian soldiers found Pakistani military dog tags. The specialized high altitude equipments, heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft stinger missiles used by the intruders could have only been operated by the Pakistani Military. In addition, short-wave radio transmissions revealed that intruders were collaborating their attacks with other divisions of the Pakistan military. However though the rest of the world knows that Pakistani soldiers were the intruder, Pakistan continues to deny this basic fact even today.

Victory or Defeat?

Indian Soldiers celebrating after flushing out intruding Pakistani regulars

The majority of the conflict came to an end when the Indian army flushed out all the intruders and eliminated the Northern Light Infantry. Though it was a victory for India, it was loss for the peace initiative and for India's trust towards Pakistan. Despite the defeat, Pakistan continues to actively fund, arm and train militants that cross over in order to attempt to kill Indian civilians and destabilize the nation.

Terror in the Throne

General/Dictator Musharraf declaring himself as Prime Minister

Shortly after the conflict, the Pakistani President, Nawaz Sheriff was forcibly ousted and exiled by General Musharraf, the creator of the Kargil intrusion. Musharraf remains head of the armed forces as well as Prime Minister. In 2002, CIA reports revealed that General Musharraf in addition had mobilized nuclear weapons and was willing to use them during the conflict with a first-strike attack. Now Musharraf is an ally in the war against terror. How can a man who is the cause and sponsor of terror, be an ally against it?