Pervez Musharraf's Kargil war blunder: how India's response decimated Pakistan army chief's plan

The Kargil war - in Pervez Musharraf's imagination, it was an opportunity to go down as one of the greatest in history books. In reality, it was a moment of utter humiliation for the entire nation of Pakistan.

The Kargil conflict was a 60-day war which took place between May and July 1999. It occurred in the Kargil-Drass sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

The war began with infiltration from the Pakistan-controlled side. Islamabad initially blamed terrorists, but subsequently, it was proven that Pakistan army soldiers were part of the operation.

Over 500 Indian soldiers were killed in the action, but Indian eventually claimed victory on July 26, 1999. The day is celebrated as Vijay Diwas every year.

As Pakistan army chief, Pervez Musharraf had masterminded the Kargil operation. Musharraf had reportedly presented a similar plan to Benazir Bhutto when she was Prime Minister, but she had rejected it.

Eventually, Musharraf launched the operation when Nawaz Sharif was in power. The Pakistani general wanted to catch India off-guard, and quickly capture territory.

Musharraf thought that once the war started, the West would be forced intervene to prevent a wider conflict between two nuclear powers, and a ceasefire would cement Pakistan's territorial gains.

However, the plan back-fired as India responded fiercely, and decimated Pakistani forces. Years later, one of Nawaz Sharif's close aides claimed that Musharraf had launched the war to derail India-Pakistan talks.