Chinese soldiers were present in Kargil in 1998, a nine-page intelligence brief prepared in August that year had claimed, according to the then commander of 121 Infantry Brigade, Brigadier Surinder Singh, who was dismissed from the army after the Kargil war on the charge of allegedly leaking classified documents.?
The brief was sent by Brigadier Singh to the then General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the area on August 25, 1998. It is now part of court record at the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), Chandigarh, which is hearing a petition filed by Brig Singh against his dismissal.?
Armed conflict between India and Pakistan erupted in the area in May 1999 and ended on July 26, 1999. However, senior Army officers who were in service at the time rubbished Brig Singh's claim, saying it was the first they were hearing of Chinese involvement in the Kargil conflict.?
Lt Gen K J Singh, former chief of the Army's Western Command, said, "Chinese involvement is unlikely. If Pakistan starts something (with India), China may not immediately jump into it.?
Reuters
However, if China opens a front, Pakistan will definitely take advantage." "The Chinese were diplomatically neutral throughout the conflict," said another retired general.?
The brief ¡ª a copy of which is with TOI ¡ª was claimed to have been prepared after a reconnaissance of the Kargil area. It mentioned the movement of howitzer guns manned by Chinese personnel in the sector, stating, "M198 (155mm how) moved into sect and being manned by Chinese pers."?
Prepared by Major R K Dwivedi, then a brigade major, the document was titled 'Enhanced Threat Perception'. It was meant to be part of a presentation to then army chief, Gen V P Malik, who was to visit the area. The brief mentions unusual movement in the Kargil area towards Pakistan almost nine months before the war. It also alerted army authorities about the infiltrators gathering weaponry and building additional bunkers.?
Reuters
The documents further state that following the alert, the GOC of the area had ordered war-gaming in the area and an exercise codenamed 'Jaanch' was carried out to assess the situation. Following the exercise, the brigade prepared a report observing "adversary has wherewithal of launching a brigade-plus-size force in Drass" and a requisition was sent for supply of more stores, ammunition and equipment in view of the threat perception.?
"Fortunately everything is part of the record, which clearly reveals that I had given complete information about the possible attack. Unfortunately, every input and information was ignored," Brig Singh told TOI. Though he was dismissed without court martial and was given pensionery benefits, Brig Singh has been fighting his case since 2001 seeking restoration of his honour.