Pakistan's dirty Kargil skeletons tumble out, Asim Munir pays tribute to soldier disowned in 1999

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Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir paid a tribute to a soldier, whose body the country once refused to accept during the Kargil War. Here's a story of Captain Karnal Sher Khan. read more
Pakistan's newly appointed Field Marshal and Army Chief Asim Munir on Saturday paid a 'heartfelt tribute' to Captain Karnal Sher Khan on the occasion of his 26th 'martyrdom' anniversary. However, it is learnt that Khan was the same soldier whose body Pakistan refused to accept when it was found on Tiger Hill in the Dras sub-sector during the Kargil War.
Munir, along with other senior Pakistani officers, paid tribute to the fallen soldier for what Islamabad described as his unwavering courage and patriotism during the 1999 Kargil War. According to the press release issued by the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC, back on July 15, 1999, Karnal Sher was one of the two soldiers whose bodies Pakistan adamantly refused to accept.
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At that time, this was seen as Pakistan's way to evade acknowledging the involvement of the Pakistan army regulars in the misadventure in Kargil. The country vehemently denied Khan's identification by India through correspondence found on him, stirring major controversy amid the war.
It is pertinent to note that this was not the first time Captain Karnal Sher was honoured in Pakistan. Interestingly, he is still the sole recipient of the Nishan-i-Haider award from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. In 2020, while Pakistan celebrated the 55th Defence Day, a massive procession was taken out to honour the Pakistani captain. Since then, he has often been referred to as a 'Kargil Hero'.
What was India's take on the matter?
According to the press release by the Indian consulate in Washington, in July 1999, the Indian authorities found the bodies of two Pakistani soldiers on the Indian side of the Line of Control in Kargil. As per the statement, the body belonged to Capt. Imtiaz Malik of the 165th Mortar Regiment and Capt. Karnal Sher of 12 Northern Light Infantry.
The Indian Army took possession of the bodies, and on July 12, they conveyed the development to the government of Pakistan. 'We informed the Pakistani authorities that we would like to hand over the bodies to them. We did not receive any response,' the statement reads.
After the notification was sent to the Pakistani government, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) approached the Government of India on July 13. In its letter, ICRC maintained that Pakistan had requested them to contact India for the handing over of the bodies of the two officers. However, in that letter, the names of the two officers were not mentioned.
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India then provided ICRC with this information, along with the photographs of the bodies and copies of correspondence found on the two soldiers. The Pakistani government later conveyed through 'ICRC that the material we had furnished was 'insufficient' to establish the identities of the officers, and that they would like the bodies to be handed over and taken to Islamabad for verification.'
'It is clear that this was again an attempt to obscure and evade the fact that these were bodies of officers of the Pakistan Army involved in the Kargil operation,' the embassy said in the statement. In response to this, India offered that it would be willing to receive a Pakistani representative and even the family members of the soldiers to visit the country and identify the bodies.
India pointed out that it would have been unprecedented and unheard of for bodies to be sent abroad before their nationality and military identity are determined. 'If Pakistan doubts them, it is for their representatives to come and see the bodies. We have not yet received a response from Pakistan through the ICRC,' the embassy said at that time.
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So, how were the bodies handed over to them?
Tired of Pakistan's refusal, India eventually set a deadline of July 15 for Pakistan to claim the bodies of the soldiers. 'The Government of India had conveyed to the ICRC that, because of the weather conditions, the condition of bodies is deteriorating and the ICRC should come back with the response from Pakistan by 1100 hrs. IST on July 15,' the statement from the Indian side read.
Eventually, the Pakistani authorities conceded and accepted the bodies of the army personnel. On July 17, the two bodies, draped in the green Pakistani flag, were handed over to an official of the International Committee of the Red Cross at the army base hospital in New Delhi.
The Red Cross official named Dennis Allistone checked the bodies and documents of the two soldiers before taking them to the Palam airport. Both soldiers were eventually flown to Karachi. The two soldiers received full military honours from the Rajputana Rifles.
How an officer in India helped Captain Karnal Sher in receiving Nishan-e-Haider
While Pakistan initially abandoned Captain Karnal Sher, it was Indian Army officer, Brigadier M.P.S. Bajwa (now retired), who honoured the soldier in his way.
Bajwa, who was commanding the 192 Mountain Brigade at that time, was so impressed by the Pakistani soldier's valour that he wrote a citation for him and placed it in his pocket while handing over the body, which eventually led to his recognition.
Before Captain Karnal's body was dispatched to Delhi, Bajwa informed his General Officer Commanding of Khan's bravery and expressed the desire to write a small citation.
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'A piece of paper with a handwritten citation was placed in his pocket. Initially, Pakistan refused to take his body, saying that their soldiers had never fought, but later the body was accepted,' Bajwa told The Print in 2019. 'It was heartening news that he was awarded the Nishan-e-Haider. I received a letter of thanks to the Indian Army from his father," he added.