Author: Manoj Joshi
Publication: Times of
India
Date: August 24, 2000
Indian Army officials
are seething at what they say is an "inspired" campaign to malign their
image. Their main complaint is over a pattern of news reports that claim
the army "lost" a Kargil height, Point 5353, to Pakistan, making the Zoji
La-Kargil road vulnerable to Pakistani shelling.
According to a senior
army officer, "Pt 5353, through which the Line of Control (LoC) passes
was never in our control, so there is no question of losing it."
Pakistani officials have
been quick to take advantage of the spate of stories claiming that India
is at a disadvantage in this area. Inter-Services public relations chief
Rashid Qureshi claimed in Islamabad last week that Pakistan could cut the
Zoji La-Leh road anytime it wanted. Considering the Pakistani failure to
do so after a surprise attack last year, this comment is being seen as
designed to whip up a divisive debate in India.
According to army officials,
the LoC in this area follows an imaginary line connecting high points such
as Pt 5070,5353,5245 and 5608, the numerals being the altitude of the high
points in the mountain range depicted in meters. Indian forces control
the highest one, Pt 5608, and the Pakistanis control Pt 5353 because of
the way the terrain lies.
The burden of the campaign,
say army officers, is the charge that by "losing" this peak, the Indian
Army has allowed Pakistan to gain a post providing observation of the Zoji
La-Kargil road. "We have conducted an 'intervisibility' exercise on a detailed
contour map and concluded that the Pakistanis can, at best, observe some
0.5-1 km of the road from a point 11.5 km away as a crow flies."
