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Pak pullout nearing completion

The Indian troops are getting closer to the Line of Control in Kaksar and Mushkoh valley, an army spokesman said Wednesday in New Delhi.

And in Drass, artillery shells from across had stopped since midnight.

The Indian Air Force, meanwhile, carried out reconnaissance missions in the Kargil sector Wednesday, as well as Tuesday night, said Joint Director of Operations Group Captain D N Ganesh.

Army Spokesman Colonel Bikram Singh said the bodies of six soldiers, including that of Lieutenant Amit Bhardwaj of 4th battalion, Jat Regiment, missing since May 17, was recovered from a vacated portion in the Kaksar area.

"There has been no firing since the midnight of July 13-14 in Drass sector,'' Col Singh said.

But before that, intermittent artillery shelling in the sector had killed a jawan. "Indian troops in retaliatory firing had effected some casualties, which are being assessed," he added.

He said the Pakistanis were withdrawing as scheduled and reiterated that any intruder who is on the Indian side of the LoC after July 16 would be treated as hostile.

The Indian troops were almost on the LoC in the Batalik and Drass sectors. In Drass, the Pakistanis had two positions and in Batalik, one.

Asked about the state of the bodies of the Indian soldiers recovered in Kaksar, Colonel Singh said only a post-mortem would reveal whether they were tortured.

Group Captain Ganesh said the reconnaissance and air defence sorties were to remind Pakistan that the IAF was continuing its "high level of preparedness and vigilance."

He said there had not been much air activity during the past 48 hours across the LoC as had been noticed a few days ago.

UNI

The Kargil Crisis

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