'India handed over body of Pak soldier killed in Kargil on grandfather's request'

As the country commemorates 20 years of the Kargil War, former Army Chief General (Retd) V.P. Malik shared how the grandfather of a slain Pakistani soldier had approached India to get back the body of his grandson.

The then Chief of Army Staff General Malik had received a letter from the Defence Attache (DA) in London on a request from the grandparents of Captain Taimur Malik, a young Pakistani soldier who was killed during the Kargil conflict, requesting the body be handed over to them.

Gen Malik on Wednesday tweeted, "After capture of Pt 5770. Pak Army Capt Taimur Malik of SSG was killed. Taimur's grandfather approached our DA in London. Requested return of grandson's body & his request be conveyed to me. Got young Taimur's and other bodies exhumed. Returned them to Pakistan with military honour".

When IANS asked the General about the incident, he said he did not meet the grandfather but got the message through the Defence Attache in London about the request for handing over the body.

"I did not meet the grandfather. Only received his message through DA. Bodies were handed over to the Pakistan Army," the General told IANS.

On July 29, 1999, the Indian Army recaptured all posts in Kargil that were occupied by Pakistan.

The infiltration into the Indian side was by both Pakistani troops and militants who had positioned themselves at strategic points on the mountain peaks. IANS