Point 5353 in Pakistan's control Drass sector

[SBD-3]

 

[Areesh]

It is an old news. Wonder Indian media still makes reports on it. Anyways it is true that Pakistan do control some strategicaly important posts which it gained in Kargil war including this Point 5353.

 

[Arsalan]

Point 5353:

Manu Pubby
Tags : Line of Control, Tiger Hill, Kargil war, jammu and kashmir

Posted: Mon Jul 13 2009, 02:11 hrs

Standing tall and dominating the famous Tiger Hill on the Line of Control (LoC) is a grim reminder of the Kargil war. Point 5353, the highest peak in the region which has a clear view of the National Highway 1 D, remains occupied by Pakistan even a decade after the battle.


While the point is clearly on the Indian side of the LoC, it remains in Pakistani control which has fortified it with reinforced bunkers and has even built a special road nearby to carry up supplies for soldiers.



The Indian Army, which made several unsuccessful attempts to occupy the post after the Kargil war, has since given up the post as “untenable” given the geography of the region that makes it fairly easy for Pakistani troops to climb.



What makes Point 5353 so valuable for the two armies is that it has a clear view of the national highway that connects the Kashmir valley with Kargil. The main reason the Army retaliated hard to the Pakistani intrusion in 1999 was that disruption of traffic on the road would cut off supplies to Ladakh and the Siachen glacier.

regards!

 

[Arsalan]

here is another article about the same Hill, the Point 5353, Still in hands of Pakistan Army despite repeated attempts by indians to capture this kep strategic point.

Commander ordered capture of Point 5353 in Kargil war

By Praveen Swami
NEW DELHI, JUNE 29 . Indian soldiers had attempted to capture Point 5353, a strategically-important peak in the Dras sector, in the first days of the Kargil war. New evidence that such an assault took place blows apart contradictory claims by the former Defence Minister, George Fernandes, and top military officials that the feature does not lie on the Indian side of the Line of Control.

An investigation by The Hindu has gained access to orders issued to Major Navneet Mehra of the 16 Grenadiers Regiment, ordering him to lead an assault on Point 5353, so named for its altitude in metres. It is the highest feature in the Dras sector, and allows the Pakistani troops to observe National Highway 1A, as well as an alternative Dras-Kargil route that is now under construction.

Major Mehra's men were asked to evict the Pakistani intruders on Point 5353 by 6 a.m. on May 18, 1999. The officer's plan was to set up three fire bases along the base of the peak to support the infantry assault by two groups.

Although backed by some artillery, both groups faced a difficult climb, under direct fire from both the Pakistani positions on Point 5353 and Point 5165.

However, Major Mehra's despatches note, his commanding officer, Col. Pushpinder Oberoi, gave specific orders "to go for it at any cost." Col. Oberoi's troops failed to execute his instructions. Ill-equipped for the extreme cold, and not properly acclimatised to the altitude, the troops withdrew after suffering 13 casualties. The attack was finally called off at 3 a.m. on May 19, 1999.

After news broke that the Pakistani troops occupied Point 5353, the Indian Army denied that the peak had ever been held by India, or, indeed, was on its side of the LoC. A press release issued on August 11, 2000, asserted that the "point was never under our control either before or after Operation Vijay in Kargil." Mr. Fernandes seemed to disagree. Asked about the status of Point 5353 at a subsequent press conference, he insisted that "every inch of the land is under our control."

Mr. Fernandes' subsequent statements added to the confusion. Speaking to an audience in Mumbai, he said "Point 5353 is the point over which the LoC goes. Fact is, our troops had never occupied that."

However, on January 1, 2001, the Press Information Bureau issued a photograph of Mr. Fernandes standing on what it claimed was Point 5353. Later, the PIB was forced to sack a junior staffer for "an administrative error."

War-time media reports, based on Army briefings, suggest that further efforts to take the peak were made from July 21, 1999, well after the fighting had officially ended. While these efforts were unsuccessful, the available evidence suggests that then-56 Brigade Commander Amar Aul responded by occupying two heights on the Pakistani side of the LoC, 4875 and 4251.

sSubsequently, the local commanders hammered out a deal, where both agreed to leave points 5353, 5240, 4251 and 4875 unoccupied.

Towards October-end, for reasons still not clear, the 16 Grenadiers were ordered to take Point 5240 and the 1-3 Gurkha Rifles Point 5353. While the 16 Grenadiers' attack proceeded as planned, despite bad weather, the 1-3 Gurkha Rifles, for reasons still not clear, never made their way up to Point 5353. When the Pakistani troops detected the Indian presence on 5240, they promptly reoccupied Point 5353.

Interestingly, however, the 16 Grenadiers' records on the Point 5353 assault refer to Point 5353 as "a minor objective." So too, do entries in Col. Oberoi's confidential service records. This assessment was vindicated during the artillery clashes in 2001-2002, when the Pakistani observation posts on Point 5353 were unable to bring accurate fire to bear on either the highway or nearby Indian positions. The Indian troops were able to tie down the Pakistani position with accurate fire, rendering it near-impossible for its superior altitude to be used to good effect.

Correction

The height of Tiger Hill is 4,660 metres (i.e., Point 4660), not 4,165 metres as reported in these columns on Tuesday.

Regards!

 

[Arsalan]

here see a relavant vedio

enjoy!

best regards!

 

[Patriot]

sSubsequently, the local commanders hammered out a deal, where both agreed to leave points 5353, 5240, 4251 and 4875 unoccupied.

Towards October-end, for reasons still not clear, the 16 Grenadiers were ordered to take Point 5240 and the 1-3 Gurkha Rifles Point 5353. While the 16 Grenadiers' attack proceeded as planned, despite bad weather, the 1-3 Gurkha Rifles, for reasons still not clear, never made their way up to Point 5353. When the Pakistani troops detected the Indian presence on 5240, they promptly reoccupied Point 5353.

These Indian Commanders are deceptive- No wonder we don't trust them.

 

[Arsalan]

These Indian Commanders are deceptive- No wonder we don't trust them.

that is what the article is all about.

now they have to speak of a fact that hurt them a lot and look at the sugar coatings these articles put on the fact that the point is occupied by Pakistani forces despite repeated Indian attempts..

regards!

 

[Awesome]

This is significant, that means we just have to wait till Indians slip up and we can make another incursion onto Tiger Hill and control the Kashmir highway.

I wonder why IAF has not been used to bomb 5353 - something has changed since 1999 that makes it hard for them to bomb here?

There is no Indian/Pakistani side of the LoC. LoC is basically who controls till wherever - despite all official nuances that is the most truest truth.

 

[Neither Right Nor Wrong]

This is significant, that means we just have to wait till Indians slip up and we can make another incursion onto Tiger Hill and control the Kashmir highway.

I wonder why IAF has not been used to bomb 5353 - something has changed since 1999 that makes it hard for them to bomb here?

There is no Indian/Pakistani side of the LoC. LoC is basically who controls till wherever - despite all official nuances that is the most truest truth.

Maybe its just a bait..for Pak army to bite on..once it does, Indian army might just want to test their shiny new war doctrine...after all in a war, we would not want to be seen as aggressors..would we!!

 

[desiman]

This is significant, that means we just have to wait till Indians slip up and we can make another incursion onto Tiger Hill and control the Kashmir highway.

I wonder why IAF has not been used to bomb 5353 - something has changed since 1999 that makes it hard for them to bomb here?

There is no Indian/Pakistani side of the LoC. LoC is basically who controls till wherever - despite all official nuances that is the most truest truth.

just try it and believe me thats the last thing you will do. Another Kargil will be the biggest and last mistake that Pakistan makes. The LOC is not a whatever border, its a legitimate line that divides India and Pakistan. You might not recognize it but we do and any stupid tries again from Pakistan or the so called Jihadi's will not go unpunished.

In regards to this peak and point 5353, this is a nice cooked up tale by a couple of misguided Indian media and Pakistani media who still want to prove that Pakistan got something out of the Kargil war except defeat. Let me explain. Point 5353 lies of the north western side of the Kargil valley and is one of the thousands of small peaks that are scattered in this location. Now during the Kargil war, the Indian army identified the major peaks that post a direct threat to the highways and Indian position along the border. Famous ones like Tiger Hill, point 5680 and point 5676 were captured with priority as they gave the Pakistani Army a direct line of sight on the crucial highway that leads to Leh. Now coming back to this point 5353 which has been romanticized by many Pakistani's on this forum, its a minor peak very very close to Pakistani territory and the Indian army did not want to get that close to Pakistan during and after the war. some reasons why -

a) India did not want to cross the International border and give Pakistan a crying point like always

b) This point does not even give the Indian's any significant advantage over this area.

C) The LOC is a very faintly mapped line and there is much confusion still surrounding it. Snow patterns and glacier retreat cycles change the line slightly every year. So what could be in Indian territory could be in Pakistani territory the next season visa versa. Point 5353 is one of those peaks.

d) By the end of the Kargil war India had got back over 95% of the lost territory and had set things back according to the Shimla accord. As I said earlier, this area is subject to constant change and peaks often get interchanged in nationality. Altogether India got back what is lost.

India is very much in control of all major peaks in this region which are higher and better positioned that point 5353 so if we ever have the need to recapture this, it wont take us very long.

Now this info was given to me by a major in the Indian army, who was also part of the Kargil war in his time. So please stop thinking that Kargil was anything else other than a huge defeat for Pakistan, you did not achieve even one strategic goal and only managed to destabilize your own country even further. Sorry I had to write all this but im kinda sick of kids here quoting youtube videos and talking like they know everything.

 

[Rafi]

I salute Gen Pal, the commander of injun troops during the Kargil war, who admitted that the war was a "strategic loss for india"

It must have been hard for him, but finally the truth has come out.

 

[Rafi]

India Lost Kargil War: General Kishen
Submitted by BZ on June 1, 2010 – 7:36 pm85 Comments
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NEW DELHI—Eleven years after having led troops on the ground during the Kargil war, a retired army general has claimed India had actually lost the war in strategic terms as it failed to consolidate tactical gains. Lt Gen (retd) Kishen Pal, who headed the Srinagar-based 15 Corps during the 1999 conflict, told television channel NDTV in an interview broadcast on Sunday that he had never been convinced that India had won.

“We did gain some tactical victories, we regained back the territories we lost, but we lost 587 precious lives,” he said. “I consider this loss of war because whatever we gained from the war has not been consolidated, either politically or diplomatically, it has not been consolidated militarily,” he added.

The Armed Forces Tribunal recently indicted Pal for showing bias against his junior Brigadier Devinder Singh and falsifying accounts during the Kargil war.

Asked if the army was under pressure then to give quick results, Pal admitted it was so. “It was a big embarrassment to everybody. The then vice Chief Lt Gen Chandra Shekhar told me that there is lot of pressure we have to clear this very fast,” he said.—Agencies

 

[Rafi]

Pt 5353 is the highest mountaintop

in the Dras sector. It offers a vantage point to observe movement on the Srinagar-Leh highway (National Highway 1). Pakistani forces occupied Pt 5353 after senior commanders of 56 Mountain Brigade failed in a mission to recapture the peak. Just as the mission to capture Pt 5353 was botched, another Indian post, called Saddle Ridge, came under Pakistani occupation after senior commanders of 56 Mountain Brigade in Dras bungled

 

[Imran Khan]

just try it and believe me thats the last thing you will do. Another Kargil will be the biggest and last mistake that Pakistan makes

no one care these type of words here bro. india can't be a winner on us else there is no indian on earth that day.only way you have table as soon as you come there its better for you.

 

[Areesh]

And the best part is that Pak troops can easily watch all the operation vijay "success" celebrations at the Indian created war memorials from the top of this peak with a peculiar smile on their faces. That is the coolest part.