Thread by @meemainseen

Kargil: Tales & Bodies
From Across ‘The Line’
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The picture taken atop an observation bunker overlooks Batalik sector
The center is the spot where Indus enters Pakistan
The ridge line rising to the left has Indian posts
It was early spring, Kargil was still a thing of future

It was here in Batalik sector, away from the media glare of Tololing and Tiger Hill of Dras that the bloodiest of battles from the Kargil conflict were fought
My friend and coursemate Lt Faisal Ghumman fought his last battle here
He was posthumously awarded Sitara e Jurrat

The same yr as "Youngest officer in Shyok" I accompanied Maj Ahmed Tiwana, a Piffer officer deputed with NLI to Piun & beyond
I would leave but Maj Tiwana would stay
He later embraced shahadat in an artillery duel and was awarded Tamgha e Basalat
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pic via @leftofthepincer

Not very far from Y Block in DHA Lahore is a graveyard with neatly laid out grave plots
Here lies buried Lt Faisal Zia Ghumman, pride of 96th PMA Long Course from Kargil conflict
Maj Tiwana too found a grave in his homeland
Not all dear reader, fighting the war were that lucky

Early Jun in Shyok Capt Farhat Haseeb led a body of 10 Jawans on counter attack and never came back
Few days before Capt Haneef Uddin of 11 RajRif lost his life on a patrol
Latter's body recovered in Jul was buried in Delhi
Capt Farhat sleeps under snowy slopes of Shyok mountains

On the night of 28/29th June 2 Rajputana Rifles won the Battle of Tololing
They remember with an innate pride yet in a solemn tone the Indian dead, and the Pakistani dead
Maj Padmapani Acharya MVC
We don't get a name but it must be Maj Abdul Wahab, SJ buried somewhere on Tololing

And then on the challenging heights of Tiger Hill we had Capt Karnal Sher, body returned with a citation of bravery and earned Nishan e Haider
Capt Ammar the SSG officer won Sitara e Jurrat for his courage but was never claimed by us
The formidable slopes of Tiger Hills have him

Associated Press has a video where the burial of the seven soldiers in a shallow pit serving as a combined grave was shown to reporters and televised on the media
Bodies of 12 NLI Soldiers, few days old clad in but disowned by Pakistani flag were given a decent burial by Indians

And then there was Col Mustafa commanding 19FF who after the fight wasn't willing to leave without the bodies of his unit's shuhada
An arrangement between a "Pathan and Sardar" was videotaped by Indians
What a CO did for his Paltan ki Izzat could not be dared by an Army Commander

And then there was a unique request by a Grandfather, a veteran of Kashmir War of 48 to return the body of his grandson Capt Taimur Malik Shaheed, duly obliged by Indian Chief Gen V.P.Malik
The martyrs of Bilal Post were exhumed after a month of the conflict and returned to Pak

…
And don’t say that you’ve made a sacrifice,
because the one who’s made the sacrifice is me,
and don’t use any more lofty words
because, father, I’m already buried deep.
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lines from 'Queen of the Bathtub by Hanoch Levin excerpted from 'Dying to Serve' by @mariarshd

Dear Reader, this thread is an excerpt from our story on Kargil martyrs buried across "the line"
If your interest is still alive the full story can be read on MANI JUNCTION on the link below
meemainseen.com/2021/08/kargil…