Brigadier Singh

Chandigarh, June 14: Sacked Kargil brigadier Surinder Singh today slammed the government for keeping silent on Point 5353, “an area 300 m inside the Line of Control”, which is in control of Pakistani irregulars since intrusions were detected in early 1999.

The army, however, claims the area, adjacent to Tiger Hills, is on the LoC and has always been under Pakistani occupation.

Singh said defence minister Pranab Mukherjee’s recent statement in Parliament, refuting the army’s internal report that said the former NDA government’s delay in granting clearance to use of air power had led to higher casualties, “was aimed at sidelining the Point 5353 issue that I have raised”.

Singh said he had ordered the commanding officer of 16 Grenadiers to recapture Point 5353. “They failed to perform their job,” he said. “A lot of my men lost their lives once it fell into enemy hands.”

Point 5353 overlooks NH1A from an aerial distance of 12 km from Drass. It also overlooks an alternative highway.

“The army may state that it was always with Pakistan. But why is the government silent on the issue? Is it due to the peace talks? Even then the nation must be told the truth. Pakistan should be asked to vacate it immediately. The strategic height must remain in India’s hands,” he demanded.

Singh used to command the 121 (Independent) Brigade in Kargil and was sacked for allegedly failing to detect intrusions. His case challenging the dismissal is pending in Delhi High Court.

Singh’s outburst against his expulsion reopened the debate on the need to split the Northern Command into two, command sources in Nagrota and Udhampur said.

The Northern Command was born after the 1971 war with Pakistan when it was felt that the Western Command defending Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir was too burdened and the valley bordering Pakistan and China required a separate command for manning its treacherous terrain.

“The territorial boundary of the Northern Command includes plains, riverine areas, foothills, mountain ranges, tenuous lines of communication, forests, lakes, high altitude, deserts and glaciers. It poses problems for movement, necessitating the requirement of special equipment, skill and training. It is the real thing and not a war game or sand model. Two smaller commands in place of the existing one could help in better management and ensure Kargil is not repeated,” a defence source said.

The Northern Command is responsible for the international border from Gurdaspur to the chicken’s neck in the Akhnoor sector, the LoC from Chhamb to NJ 9428, the Siachen sector and the Line of Actual Control (LoAC) with China in the Karakoram-Daulet Beg Oldi sector covering 1,800 km. The area goes up to 21,000 feet.

“The command, as it stands now, has a variety of complex functions. It has to defend the LoC and LoAC against Pakistan and China, fight militancy, manage the entire area’s needs, including winter stocks… and evaluate intelligence reports from deep inside enemy territory. All this under one head cannot be an effective dispensation of command,” an officer said.

Army sources insist the administration of the LoC and LoAC should be demarcated clearly and an additional headquarter must be set up to separate operations and management.