Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar pays tribute to Kargil martyrs

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today led the nation in paying homage to the Kargil war heroes by laying a wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti here.

Along with Parrikar, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and Navy Vice Chief P Murugesan also paid tributes to the martyr's on the 16th anniversary of India's victory in the Kargil war.

Several events are planned at army centres across the country to celebrate the Kargil victory and pay respect to the over 400 soldiers who were martyred in the Kargil war.

Suhag who had yesterday visited the Kargil War Memorial in Drass yesterday had said the armed forces will not let another Kargil-like conflict to take place.

Though the celebrations to mark the 16th anniversary of India's victory in the Kargil War, also called Vijay Diwas, began on July 20, the main functions are planned for today.

The Kargil war, which began in May 1999, lasted for more than two months before Pakistani soldiers, a bulk of them drawn from its Northern Light Infantry, and irregulars withdrew from the mountain tops they had occupied overlooking the Srinagar-Leh highway.

In the conflict, the Indian Army lost 490 officers, soldiers and jawans.