BENGALURU: The Indo-Pak war of 1965 was the result of the neighbouring country launching Operation Gibraltar, designed to infiltrate Jammu and Kashmir to start insurgency. The war lasted for 17 days with the Indian forces launching an attack with full force on West Pakistan. The conflict ended on September 23 after a ceasefire was declared. The 1965 War veteran, Air Marshal (Retd) Raghuranjan, PVSM said, "In the 1965 War, Pakistan wanted to regain the Kashmir Valley as they felt the time was right because of some disturbances in J&K."
"Pakistan forces infiltrated the Valley in a bid to take over entire Kashmir. There were around 24 points from where Pakistan could enter. They suffered the first defeat when they tried to incite the local population. Our Army immediately reacted on the information provided by the locals," he said. To commemorate the martyrs of the war, Flags of Honour in association with the state government and Indian Armed Forces, organised an event at the National Military Memorial on Monday. Officials from the government and the three services paid their respects to the war heroes by laying wreaths at the memorial.
Shaurya Chakra winner and a Kargil War veteran, Major Rakesh Sharma, said that Indo-Pak War of 1965, like all other operations, was an epitome of swift action by the armed forces. "Within no time, we were close to Lahore. Param Vir Chakra winner Company Quartermaster Havaldar Abdul Hamid destroyed eight Pakistani tanks and the historic capture of Haji Peer Pass by our army was a landmark achievement," Maj Sharma reminisced.
