Indian Army occupies 5 hill features off Kargil
From Our Special Correspondent, NEW DELHI, DEC. 9- The Indian Army has by today occupied five hill features off Kargil in Kashmir thus denying Pakistan the possibility of any pincer attack from that side.
Successes have been recorded both in Barmer and Kutch sectors in the Western theater of war till this morning. The Indian Army today drove out Pakistani troops from a post (east of the river Munnawar Tawi) in the Chhamb sector in Kashmir which had already changed hands twice yesterday and day before.
In the Chamb sector, we had today cleared the “chicken neck” area of Pakistani troops and a small group of Indian troops has been inducted into the Pakistani side of the territory across the international border. The Akhnoor line is thus what in Army parlance is called “straightened.”
Otherwise a sort of lull prevailed in all the sectors down to Fazilka in Punjab. It is likely that the occasion is being utilized by both the sides for grouping and regrouping for possible actions later.
The Kargil hill features are important because anybody occupying them could dominate the road to Leh. the district town of Ladakh. Some of these hills are on the other side of the cease-fire line. During the 1965 conflict. India had advanced into some of these hills and occupied them in order to keep the supply line clear. That had enabled India at that time, to withdraw a certain force from Ladakh and throw it into the battle in the Chamb Jaurian sector.
Four of the hill points were occupied yesterday. The fifth one, four miles north-east of Kargil, was captured at 1 p.m. today.
In the Kutch sector, Gujarat the Indian Army occupied Nagarpek 68 miles south of Kelnor this morning. It has been handed over to the Border Security Force. And in the Jaisalmer sector, four Pakistani Sherman tanks had been found destroyed. 7 miles west of Longewala around which there had been scattered battles two days ago. The Pak Army units here had practically been decimated and the stragglers had been retreating,
Fresh battles are about to flare up with the enemy in Naya Char in the Barmer sector where our Army is making for Umerkot the birthplace of the Moghul Emperor, Akbar.
In the Barmer area we are in possession of about 800 square miles of Pakistani territory. The railway and the road in this area lead to the provincial capital of Sindh (Hyderabad).
In the Naushera sector Indian troops carried out several raids on the enemy and killed Pakistani soldiers. Ashit Kr. Mitra M [9.9 127]
Agencies add : Indian forces had stabilized their position in the Chhamb sector of the western border after inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy from the air and ground last night and today.
Because of this, two bunkers each about 3-mile long and as strong as an embankment between Benapole and Navarone, and another between Navarone and Jhikargacha had been built. But these bunkers constructed by forced labor, did not serve any purpose as the Pakistani troop position was outflanked when the Indian troops had fought and Indian columns penetrated this sector from Changacha, Chusamankati, Afra, Gopali and Duragabarkati and made an intense cross-country operation. The Indian troops had fought and defeated the Pak battalions — 22 and 38 Frontier, 6 and 12 Punjab and 27 Baluch – in this sector.
While retreating from Jessore the Pakistani forces have left documentary evidence to prove that their evacuation began at 16.30 hours on December 6. Had this evacuation been premeditated the Pakistani forces would have destroyed the electricity and microwave communication lines as also other important installations at the Cantonment. But the Indian Army found everything intact after capturing the Cantonment.
The condition of Jessore airfield is such that after minor repairs it could be made ready for all airfield operations for all purposes from tomorrow.
Local people were seen assembling round the corpses of the enemy soldiers on the Jessore-Khulna Road and shouting “Jai Bangla” and “Mujib-Indira zindabad”. At Rupdia, on this road, some stalls were seen still burning. The Pakistani troops left this place at about 3.30 a.m. today. Some of the boys moving towards Jessore from Prembag said that quite a large number of Pakistani troops have taken shelter in a jute mill near the Jessore-Khulna border.
As the retreating enemy forces are chased down south by the Indian troops and the Mukti Bahini with the help villagers continues the process of liquidating Rajakars and other collaborators through mass trials, the people who had fled to the remote villages have begun to come back to Jessore town and its fringe areas. These people, all with smiling faces, seemed to be simply overwhelmed. They said they were grateful to the Indian people, the Indian Army and Mrs. Gaudhi. They were very eager to see Mrs. Gandhi at least once.
Boys were seen coming back home from the remote villages with their cattle. Elderly people were engaged in harvesting the ripe paddy or cultivating land for some fresh crop. Old fishermen were seen on their job in the Belai river at Navarone and the roadside canals. Small girls were chewing sugarcane. Shops here are opening one after another. Most of the brick-built houses and huts in and around. Jessore is still lying vacant locked from outside. Life becomes normal hour by hour. The weekly bazaars drew a good number of people at more than one place today. Communication between the places disrupted by the Pakistani troops are being gradually restored. Road link has been established by the Indian Army by constructing diversion routes at Navarone. Jhikargacha and Pulerhat, Tasbi Danga.
Reference: Hindustan Standard, 10.12.1971