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The enemy is retreating: MoD

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The Indian ground forces, with the support of the Indian Air Force, today succeeded in evicting Pakistani troops from two positions in the Drass sector, with the result that the "enemy" has been forced to retreat and is now concentrated in Tiger Hill (Drass), the upper reaches of Kaksar and a few positions in Batalik, Ministry of Defence officials said today.

The spokesmen of the army, air force and the ministry of external affairs, however, merely said the operations were progressing satisfactorily to evict the intruders and push them back across the Line of Control.

The MOD officials pointed out that the Indian operations had been intensified since the last two days, with the enemy retreating and hastily leaving behind huge cache of arms and ammunition, food and other essentials.

They said as the Indian forces had begun consolidating on the recent gains, the artillery had begun finding military targets with unerring precision, so much so that the Pakistani supply lines in PoK had been disrupted.

IAF aircraft are engaged in targeting the enemy troops on the high reaches, even as their dead are strewn around the craggy peaks, the officials said.

They indicated that with the morale of the Indian forces very high, it would not be long before the Pakistani forces were pushed back beyond the LoC.

Meanwhile, the army spokesman, Colonel Vikram Singh, said the Pakistani forces had concentrated their attack on Keran and Krishnaghati in the Nowshera sector. He maintained that the Indian offensive in Kargil was going ahead as planned.

Asked about the Indian casualties, Colonel Singh said that so far 106 Indians had been killed and 242 wounded. Out of this, there were 10 officers.

Referring to the casualties on the Pakistani side, he said they have lost 305 men.

Asked about the prime minister's principal secretary, Brajesh Mishra's, recent trip to Geneva, the MEA spokesman confirmed the trip and said Mishra had met the US national security advisor, Sandy Berger, and given him a letter for President Bill Clinton from Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Answering a question whether the Indian forces would cross the LoC in hot pursuit of the Pakistani intruders, the spokesman reiterated that India ''respected the sanctity of the LoC."

The Kargil Crisis

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