Operation Gibraltar

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Operation Gibraltar
Part of the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

Geopolitical map of Kashmir provided by the United States CIA, c. 2004
DateAugust 1965[1]
Location
Jammu and Kashmir
Result Pakistani operational failure[2][3][4]
Belligerents
 India  Pakistan
Commanders and leaders
J. N. Chaudhuri
Brig. Gen. Z. C. Bakhshi[5]
 Maj. Gen. Akhtar Hussain Malik[5][6][7]
Strength
100,000+[8] 20,000[9] — 30,000[10]
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

Operation Gibraltar was the codename of a military operation planned and executed by the Pakistan Army in the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India in August 1965. The operation's strategy was to covertly cross the Line of Control (LoC) and incite the Muslim-majority Kashmiri population's uprising against the Indian Government.[11] The military leadership believed that a rebellion (sparked by Operation Gibraltar) by the local Kashmiri population against Indian authorities would serve as Pakistan's casus belli against India on the international stage.[12]

Pakistan's leadership specifically chose this name to draw a parallel to the

Muslim conquest of Portugal and Spain that was launched from the port of Gibraltar.[13]

In August 1965, Pakistani army troops from the Azad Kashmir Regular Force,[14][15] disguised as locals, entered Jammu and Kashmir from Azad Kashmir with the goal of fomenting an insurgency amongst the Muslim-majority population in the Kashmir Valley. However, the strategy went awry from the outset due to poor coordination, and the infiltrators' presence was soon disclosed to the Indian military.

Following the operation and discovery of the Pakistani army infiltration, India responded by deploying more troops in the Kashmir Valley and the Indian Army subsequently began its assault against the Pakistani army infiltrators operating in the region.

In August 1965, India crossed the ceasefire line, and

Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948.[17] Thus Operation Gibraltar became the immediate cause of Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.[18]

Background

Following the

Indian Military was undergoing massive changes both in personnel and equipment. During this period, despite being numerically smaller than the Indian military, Pakistan's armed forces had a qualitative edge in air power and armor over India, which Pakistan sought to utilize before India completed its defense build-up.[21] Operation Desert Hawk in summer of 1965, where Indian and Pakistani forces clashed, resulted in some positives for Pakistan. Moreover, in December 1963, the disappearance of a holy relic[22] from the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar, created turmoil and intense Islamic feeling among Muslims in the valley, which was viewed by Pakistan as ideal for revolt.[23] These factors bolstered the Pakistani command's thinking: that the use of covert methods followed by the threat of an all out war would force a resolution in Kashmir.[24][25][26] Assuming that a weakened Indian military would not respond, Pakistan chose to send in "mujahideens
" and Pakistan Army regulars into Jammu and Kashmir.

Planning

The original plan for the operation, codenamed

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and others, the aim was an "attack by infiltration" by a specially trained irregular force of some 40,000 men, highly motivated and well armed. It was reasoned that the conflict could be confined only to Kashmir. In the words of retired Pakistani General Akhtar Hussain Malik, the aims were "to defreeze the Kashmir problem, weaken Indian resolve, and bring India to the conference table without provoking general war."[27] As a result, groundwork and intelligence gathering for execution of the plan was laid by launching "Operation Nusrat", the purpose of which was to locate gaps in the Cease Fire Line (CFL) that were to serve as entry points for the mujahideen, and to gauge the response of the Indian army and the local population.[28]

Execution

Name of Force Area of operation
Salahudin Srinagar Valley
Ghaznavi Mendhar-Rajauri
Tariq
Kargil – Drass
Babur Nowshera-Sundarbani
Qasim
 Bandipura-Sonarwain
Khalid Qazinag-Naugam
Nusrat Tithwal-Tangdhar
Sikandar
 Gurais
Khilji
 Kel-Minimarg

Despite initial reservations by the

Umayyad conquest of Hispania
was launched from Gibraltar, a situation not unlike that Pakistan envisaged for Indian Kashmir, i.e. conquest of Kashmir from Operation Gibraltar. The areas chosen were mainly on the de facto Cease Fire line as well as in the populous Kashmir Valley.

The plan was multi-pronged. Infiltrators would mingle with the local populace and incite them to rebellion. Meanwhile,

Ghaznavi Force under command Maj Malik Munawar Khan Awan managed to achieve its objective in Mehndar-Rajouri area.[35][36][37][38]

Ghaznavi Force

The Ghaznavi Force (Urdu:غزنوی فورس), named after famous Muslim invader Mahmud of Ghazni, was an auxiliary Special Operations unit formed by the Pakistan Army as part of Operation Gibraltar in 1965 to infiltrate Jammu and Kashmir in the hopes of provoking a local revolt against the Indian regime there. It had a strength of approximately 200 and was composed of regular soldiers of the Azad Kashmir Regular Force and commandos from the Pakistani Special Service Group. Its commander was decorated officer Major Malik Munawar Khan Awan SJ.[39]

The Ghaznavi Force was one of 10 units, each named after a historic Muslim leader, to be assembled for the operation by the Pakistan Army. It infiltrated Jammu and Kashmir in July 1965 to operate in the Poonch-Rajuri area. It was resupplied with ammunition dropped from Pakistan Air Force planes.[40] Towards the end of August, most infiltrators had been found, captured or killed. Those that survived were asked to pull back when India attacked Lahore.[41]

Reasons for Failure

telegram
that confirms the existence of hundreds of infiltrators in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

While the covert infiltration was a complete failure that ultimately led to the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, military analysts have differed on whether the plan itself was flawed. Some have held that the plan was well-conceived but was let down by poor execution[citation needed], but almost all Pakistani and neutral analysts have maintained that the entire operation was "a clumsy attempt"[42] and doomed to collapse. The Pakistani Army's failures started with the supposition that a generally discontented Kashmiri people, given the opportunity provided by the Pakistani advance, would revolt against their Indian rulers, bringing about a swift and decisive surrender of Kashmir. The Kashmiri people, however, did not revolt. Instead, the Indian Army was provided with enough information to learn of Operation Gibraltar and the fact that the Army was battling not insurgents, as they had initially supposed, but Pakistani Army regulars.[43]

According to then Chief of the

Musa Khan, Pakistan's Chief of the Army Staff, was reportedly so confident that the plan would succeed and conflict would be localized to Kashmir that he did not inform the Air Force, as he believed the operation would not require any major air action.[29] Many senior Pakistani military officers and political leaders were unaware of the impending crisis, thus surprising not only India, but also Pakistan itself.[46]

Many senior officials also were against the plan, as a failure could lead to an all-out war with India, which many wanted to avoid.[47][48][49][50]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Khan, M. Ilyas (5 September 2015). "Operation Gibraltar: The Pakistani troops who infiltrated Kashmir to start a rebellion". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 September 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  2. ISBN 1-86064-898-3
    .
  3. ISBN 0-8047-5085-8
    .
  4. ISBN 0-312-17562-0
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-81-7212-001-6
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 9781897829035
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 9781935501138
    .
  8. ^ Khan, M Ilyas (5 September 2015). "Operation Gibraltar: The Pakistani troops who infiltrated Kashmir to start a rebellion". BBC News. Archived from the original on 27 December 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  9. ^ Khan, M Ilyas (5 September 2015). "Operation Gibraltar: The Pakistani troops who infiltrated Kashmir to start a rebellion". BBC News. Archived from the original on 27 December 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  10. ^ Vij, Shivam (27 August 2015). "Why neither India nor Pakistan won the 1965 war | DW | 27.08.2015". DW.COM. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  11. ^ Faruqui, Ahmad (6 August 2018). "Why did Operation Gibraltar fail?". Daily Times. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  12. ^ M. Hali, Sultan (21 March 2012). "Operation Gibraltar—An Unmitigated Disaster?". Criterion Quarterly. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  13. ISBN 978-0-8157-2409-4
  14. ISBN 9781935501763
    .
  15. ISBN 9789350298985
    .
  16. ^ Also known as the Second Kashmir War.
  17. ^ Also known as the First Kashmir War.
  18. ^ Hali, S. M. (2011). "Operation Gibraltar - an unmitigated disaster?". Defence Journal. 15 (1–2): 10–34 – via EBSCO.
  19. ISBN 978-1-4008-5819-4
    . The transfer of American arms under these two pacts included.. Patton.. Starfighter...Sabre...Canberra...estimated about $700 million.
  20. ^ "The Double Game". The New Yorker. 8 May 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  21. ^
    ISBN 1-4289-8189-6
    , DIANE Publishing, pp 235, 238
  22. Islamic prophet Muhammad
    , the founder of Islam
  23. ISBN 1-86064-898-3
    , 2003
  24. ^ The Jammu and Kashmir conflict Overview by Meredith Weiss 25 June 2002 – Hosted on Yale University
  25. ^ The Fate of Kashmir International Law or Lawlessness? By Vikas Kapur and Vipin Narang Stanford Journal of International Relations, Stanford University
  26. Malaysia Sun
    21 September 2007
  27. ISBN 0-7656-1497-9
    ., pp 49
  28. ^ Matinuddin, Kamal. "Operation Gibraltar revisited". Opinion archive. The News International Pakistan. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
  29. ^
    ISBN 1-86508-119-1
    .
  30. ^ a b Karim, Major General Afsir (retd) (19 September 2005). "The 1965 War: Lessons yet to be learnt". The Rediff Special. Rediff.com India Ltd. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
  31. ^ Grand Slam — A Battle of Lost Opportunities by Major (Retd.) Agha Humayun Amin, Defence Journal (Pakistan), September 2000
  32. ^ Sehgal, Ikram. "GIBRALTAR-2". Defence Journal (reproduced from The Nation newspaper). Dynavis (Pvt) Ltd. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
  33. ^ My Frozen Turbulence in Kashmir (7th Edition), pp 409
  34. ^ Faruqui, Ahmad. "Remembering 6th of September 1965". Pakistan Link. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
  35. ^ Almeida, Cyril (30 August 2015). "Gibraltar, Grand Slam and war". Dawn.
  36. ^ Sawant, VSM, Brigadier Chitranjan (20 July 2015). "Operation Gibraltar". Aryasamaj.
  37. ISBN 9781849042307
    .
  38. ISBN 9788132102014
    .
  39. ISBN 978-1-84904-230-7
    .
  40. ^ "The 1965 War: Lessons yet to be learnt".
  41. ^ Khan, M Ilyas (5 September 2015). "Operation Gibraltar: The Pakistani troops who infiltrated Kashmir to start a rebellion". BBC News. Archived from the original on 27 December 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  42. ISBN 0-7425-2587-2
    , p 26
  43. ^ Mankekar, D. R. (1967). Twentytwo fateful days: Pakistan cut to size. Manaktalas. pp. 62–63, 67. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  44. ^ "Nur Khan reminisces '65 war". Pakistan's Dawn (newspaper). 6 September 2005. Retrieved 8 July 2006.
  45. ^ Khan, M Ilyas (5 September 2015). "Operation Gibraltar: The Pakistani troops who infiltrated Kashmir to start a rebellion". BBC News. Archived from the original on 27 December 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  46. ^ Kashmir in the Shadow of War: regional rivalries in a nuclear age By Robert G. Wirsing Pg 158
  47. ^ "Opinion: The Way it was 4: extracts from Brig (retd) ZA Khan's book". Defence Journal. Dynavis (Pvt) Ltd. May 1998. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
  48. ^ "Is a Kashmir solution in the offing?". Centre for Aerospace Power Studies. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
  49. ^ "Brig (Retd) Saeed Ismat, SJ in a Q&A session ("What do you have to say about 1965 war?")". Defence Journal. November 2001. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
  50. Second Kashmir War
    for a detailed referenced analysis on the post-war fallout.

References

External links

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