The Brilliant Agent

2nd May, 1999.

Rehman quickly finished his household work and went to rest in his quarters. He was employed in Colonel’s office cum Bungalow in the hilly areas of Bhurbhan town near Islamabad in Pakistan as a helper & servant. He was deaf and dumb OR was pretending to be one. Every day he followed the same procedure to avoid any disclosure of his identity. Today, however, was something very very urgent.

He went in his room and to make things look like every day, after doing his namaaz, he made a note on the calendar about today's prayer. Then, scratching his right ear, he quickly switched off the lights.

In the darkness, wasting no time, he pulled out his telegraph equipment. He removed his unique pen which he had prepared using vinegar & other chemicals that glowed in the dark but was invisible during day time. He noted down the info in his diary using coded words. Today morning he had heard something that had shaken down his entire body.

A General Body Meeting was held in the Bungalow, and all the major Pakistani army heads were present. Considering the situation, Rehman suspected something serious was happening.

"Order our Rangers to entire Kargil at night. Disguise them as Kashmiri militants. We will mostly use militants from Northern Light Infantry.” The senior most officer was speaking with full force. “I’ve received orders directly from our General. Enough of these smaller strikes…! We will capture points 5353, 4875, 5240 & 5310 and attack NH 1D from all the peaks stationed above mountains. NH 1D is the neck of Indian Army and India. Capturing it will break down all the supply chains Kargil & other areas forcing Indian soldiers to retaliate. Let's show India what we are capable of...!! “The officer banged his fist on the table and said.

That night, he tapped the Morse codes on the telegraph machine indicating danger and the location of the points. He couldn’t type the route which the militants were told to take, as he never knew what route was exactly told to them. It took about 5 minutes for him to tap the whole message. After finishing his work, he replaced everything he had and went back to sleep. As he laid down, scratching his right ear ,he thought about all the potential dangers that could arise out of this situation. His thoughts then drifted in the past, remembering his training days.

He realized he was chosen for a great responsibility. He has also grown a beard to resemble a localite from that area. Within a short while, he had gained trust from the Colonel & his family. The Colonel would discuss everything in front of him, as he knew Rehman was deaf & won’t understand all that he was saying, plus he started to have trust in him.

At the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Satpal took the Morse code message and sprinted fast to Officer Pravinsingh's cabin. He already decoded the Morse codes received from Bhurbhan town near Islamabad. The message was of vital importance, possibly which could trigger a war.

"If all the information in these codes is true, then we need to alert the army officials immediately ...! I need to show this urgently to the president...!" Officer Pravin Singh said. He arranged a meeting with the President and took all the messages to the President’s office.

“Did the meeting go well, Sir?” Satpal asked as Pravinsingh returned from the office.

“The President informed that he’ll pass the info to the Indian Army. But at the same time he has ordered to cross check the information from the necessary Intel. I hope it doesn’t take too many days.” As said, the valuable information took more days to be verified. By the time the verifications were done, the Pakistan militants had already attacked the peaks of Mushkoh Valley, Kargil, Drass, Kaksar & Batalik. The route which the militants took to build the bunkers atop mountaintops was still unknown. 'Operation Vijay' was launched, which marked the beginning of Kargil war. All the Indian soldiers were barred from crossing the LOC, as most battalions were unaware of the nature of attack & the forces involved.

“I knew this would happen..!” Pravinsingh said, frustrated. “It’s difficult for our forces to take the enemy down because the enemy has a plus point. Launching attacks from mountain tops is an added advantage to them, as they can view the entire stretch of 12 kms from that area, including the NH1D and the neighbouring peaks for any other intrusion.” He then looked at the Morse codes. “Keep checking with Rehman for any more information…”

Rehman was disappointed as his valuable information was undetected, leading to the start of war. However, now he had to remain more careful and cautious regarding all the information he collected. He was quite busy these days, not with his work, but with his duty as a spy. Keeping his ears open he heard everything going on in the general's home.

“The General has ordered to deploy more than 3,000 Northern Light Infantry Militants to Kukarthaang Post.” Rehman once overheard the Colonel speaking, “Our idea is to launch attacks on all the neighbouring areas & intrude majority of the Indian Army’s Posts.”

Rehman immediately informed the Research and Analysis Wing, following which a major ambush attack was launched by the 1/11 Ground Platoon & 18 Grenadiers, eventually wining the Post. This was the first defeat for Pakistan in the Kargil War.

Today, he woke up as usual. Finishing his namaaz, he went to the kitchen and scratching his right ear, started his chores. This morning, again a meeting was to be held, & some big people from the Pakistan army were attending it. Since Rehman pretended as deaf, he was allowed to enter the conference.

“Send in more ammunition and more firepower to the militants,” Rehman heard as he stood guard outside the Meeting room, “The road which is closed for the Suru Rivulet to pass after melting in summer, will be ideal one. This road reaches the Batalik sector. Inform the militants to stick to their positions & keep the fight on….!”

“Satpal, immediately patch this info to the President’s office…!” Pravin singh screamed after decoding the Morse code. “We now know what route the enemy is taking…! This road which was now closed was previously used by locals. I think the Pakistan Militants took advantage of the unguarded area & infiltrated all the major points building bunkers on Mountain tops. This information will help the army to halt their ammunition supply..!”

“Our forces are suffering huge attacks from the Indian Army. All the ammunition supply has stopped. We are falling short of food supplies & weapons…!” After 2-3 days, Rehman overheard the Colonel speaking as he was doing his chores. Scratching his right ear, he smiled.

Later on, a series of attacks by the 18 Grenadiers & Rajputana Rifles & subsequently ‘OPERATION SAFED SAGAR’ by Indian Air Force, Pakistan lost yet another important Location to the Indian Army: Point 4875.

The war was still on. The Indian Army was fighting all day and night to secure all of its lost peaks. Two

days after Pakistan lost Pt. 4875, immediately, another meeting was called at the Colonel’s Office.

“We need to hold all our other positions now, owing to the loss of Point 4875.” Rehman heard the Colonel speak as he was cleaning the plates, “Send in more reinforcements to Tololing & Point 5140.These both are of strategic importance to us. As long as we have our hold on these points, NH1A is still in our Position. The General has ordered to launch artillery attacks on Indian Army from our bunkers. We need to strengthen our positions on top…!”

As Rehman was clearing the utensils, the Major General of the Pakistan Army was closely observing the movements of Rehman.

“Who’s he? I’ve seen him a number of times in the meeting rooms.” The Major General asked Colonel, signalling towards Rehman.

“He’s a worker from the local village. Don’t worry, he’s deaf & dumb, so he’s of no threat to us..!” The Colonel clarified things.

That night, he again patched the message to the Research & Analysis wing. Considering the extra reinforcements from Pakistan, 18 Grenadiers & 2 Rajputana Rifles were given the task of recapturing the strategic location. After fighting for almost 3 weeks, Pakistan again lost the most strategic important peak in the Kargil War – Point Tololing.

“We’re in serious jeopardy..!” The Colonel was speaking to his son. “The Major General has ordered detailed enquiries on our loss. The General was also saying about a leak in our department. The Indian Army knew some of our strategies before we attacked them. Someone provided them with all the information that is helping them win all these areas. Families of all the administrators of our army are being enquired, including ours...” Rehman overheard the entire conversation from outside.

He now had to stay alert. He had been sending messages since the last some weeks. Scratching his right ear, he finally decided to reduce the number of messages.

The war was still going on. The Indian army, after capturing Point Tololing, captured the surrounding points of Hump, 3 Pimples & Knoll, subsequently removing Pakistan’s hold on these major areas.

Few days later, as Rehman got up, he saw a Signal Detecting Machine being installed in the courtyard of the bungalow. He also saw Pakistan Rangers on guard outside the bungalow premises. He then remembered what the Colonel had spoken. All the administrators were under scrutiny & everybody’s premises were checked for any signal either sent or received.

Sensing danger, Rehman hurriedly packed all of his belongings in a small bag. Taking that bag with him, he sat on his moped Bike. He informed in sign language to the Ranger on Guard that he was going to the market. The Ranger was suspicious as Rehman never went to market at this time. He called up the next post set up by the local police.

“Has he taken the left turn to the market?” The Ranger radioed to the next post.

“Affirmative. Any Problem?” The police on the next post replied back. The Ranger ordered him to follow Rehman. After some time, the police informed the Ranger that they had lost Rehman. He was nowhere to be found.

“Search his quarters, immediately..! Search everything that he has left behind…!” The Ranger ordered his commandoes. While searching his quarters, they found his diary which was empty. No telegraph device or anything skeptical was found. An immediate search operation for Rehman was launched & blockades were installed on every route going in & out of the market. The police discovered his moped parked in the bazaar. The entire area was searched by Rangers & sniffer dogs, however, no trace of Rehman was found. The Intel agency got a positive info on certain telegraph signals being sent from the Colonel’s bungalow. Now Rehman was declared Most Wanted by the Pakistan Government.

The Indian Army kept progressing in the Kargil sector & finally on 8th July,1999, 18 Grenadiers of the Indian Army secured Tiger Hill, and thereby opened access to NH 1D. India now got a good surveillance point to observe all the smaller posts around. The Indian Army also captured key peaks in the Batalik sector. With continuous International pressure, Pakistan was forced to retaliate all of its troops from the Kargil, Mushkoh Valley & Drass sector.

On 14th July, 1999, the then Prime Minister of India declared ‘Operation Vijay’ a huge success.

The Pakistan Government launched a huge search operation for Rehman, but he was nowhere to be found.

“Where could he have gone, Sir?” Satpal asked Officer Pravinsingh.

“No idea. He had taken strict commando and ammunition training. He had the capability to learn any language quickly. He could change his entire appearance within minutes and most importantly could gel in anywhere and in any environment. We have no idea where he went. But his contribution is of vital importance in winning this war. We salute the Bravery & Courage shown by him.”

26th January, 2000

Today morning, in the small village of Karuvelankadai in Nagappattinam district of Tamil Nadu, a flag hoisting ceremony was held. Teachers from the only school in the village were invited for the ceremony. The theme was recently won Kargil War.

Chevatkodiyon Elumalai Balakrishnan was one new Tamil language teacher who was appointed in the school about two months back. He was well versed with all the Tamil literature & was one of the most knowledgeable teachers in the village.

As the head of the panchayat announced some key points in the Kargil Victory to the kids, Balakrishnan looked at the flag & scratching his right ear, smiled.