The Kargil Crisis 1999 and Pakistan’s Constraints

Abstract

Kargil crisis has its links with unsettled dispute over Kashmir and Siachen glaciers between India and Pakistan. The Kargil war gave the realization to the World that Kashmir is an important dispute/issue between India and Pakistan and must be resolved.Pakistan had various objectives, motives and assumptions for initiating this conflict.Pakistan appears to have taken the decision to launch operations in Kargil to take advantage of a weak political government in India. But due to a lack of coordination among the political and military leadership, the effort ended into a failure. The Kargil war totally undermined Pakistan- India relations. India no longer trusts Pakistan. The Kargil conflict did not emerge in a vacuum.The long history of the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan generated the Kargil conflict and showed Pakistan’s reaction to the Indian military policy in Kashmir, which culminated in the occupation of the Siachen Glacier in 1984. Pakistan had seen erosion in its position from India and especially the occupation of the Siachen Glacier but theSimla Agreement could not prevent it. Kargil crisis had produced military, political and strategic constraints for Pakistan. There was inadequate interinstitutional co-ordination and lack of operational clarity was seen throughout the Kargil operation.As a result, world pressure was imposed on Pakistan to withdraw.