Operation Safed Sagar was the code name assigned to the IAF’s role in acting jointly with the Indian Army during the 1999 Kargil war that was aimed at flushing out regular and irregular troops of the Pakistani Army from vacated Indian Positions in the Kargil sector along the Line of Control.
25 Years of Operation Safed Sagar
Operation Safed Sagar was the code name assigned to the IAF’s role in acting jointly with the Indian Army during the 1999 Kargil war that was aimed at flushing out regular and irregular troops of the Pakistani Army from vacated Indian Positions in the Kargil sector along the Line of Control.It was the first large scale use of Airpower in the Jammu and Kashmir region since the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
The Lahore Declaration signed by the then Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif on 21 February 1999 brought prospects for intensified efforts to resolve all contentious issues between India and Pakistan, including on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. The fourth Indo-Pak war, and the first under the nucellar umbrella commenced in May 1999 with the foray of nearly 1500 Pakistani intruders into Indian territory of Kargil District, inviting a military response from India. Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated annually across the country on July 26th to pay tribute to the bravery and valor of the Indian soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for the country during the Kargil War in 1999.
The day commemorates the victory of Operation Vijay, which was a significant military victory over Pakistan during the Kargil War in 1999. The Kargil War was fought between India and Pakistan at the LoC in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir where the Indian Army recaptured the famous ‘Tiger Hill‘ and other important posts around under ‘Operation Vijay‘ by evicting the Pakistani troops.
The victory came at a high price. The official death toll on the Indian side was 527, while that on the Pakistani side was between 357 and 453.
