Scene 1: The Final Briefing
Location: Muzaffarabad Forward Base | Date: August 2, 1965
The rain tapped softly on the canvas roofs of the camouflaged tents spread across the forward base camp nestled within the dense Neelum Valley. A thick mist hovered over the terrain, giving the landscape a ghostly aura. Inside a dimly lit operations tent, Captain Haroon Khan stood before thirty men, their faces calm, yet eyes burning with anticipation.
"Tonight, we leave the identity of soldiers behind," he said, unrolling a worn-out topographic map. "You are now shepherds, traders, students, imams. You are the sons of the soil. You will blend into the land and become its whisper."
His voice was low, but carried weight. Next to him, Liaqat, the wireless officer, clicked through the coded instructions for each cell. SOPs were repeated. Rendezvous points marked in charcoal. Kashmiri phrases murmured like prayer. The infiltration plan had matured over months. This was its execution.
As they filed out to gear up, Haroon put his hand on Liaqat's shoulder. "We'll be shadows tonight. If caught—"
"We do not exist," Liaqat completed.
Scene 2: Crossing the Line
Location: LoC – Chilhana Ridge | Time: Midnight, August 3, 1965
The night was ink-dark, the wind whispering like a cautious friend. The group of twelve, led by Haroon, moved with practiced stealth through thickets and rock. A goat herder's trail led them along a ravine. The moon briefly glinted on their khaki pherans, rough sandals, and cloth-wrapped rifles.
A low bark echoed — a dog from an Indian Army outpost nearby.
"Stop," Haroon signaled, pressing to the ground. A minute passed. Then another. Silence returned.
They resumed. One by one, they crossed over the Line of Control—just a few yards of earth, but a chasm of nations. On the other side, they melted into the terrain.
Scene 3: Sopore Smoulders
Location: Sopore Town, Kashmir | Date: August 5, 1965
Sopore's morning was deceptively normal. Vendors lined the roadside, carts brimming with peaches and naan. But hidden in the alleys and rooftops were whispers and glances. The infiltration teams had reached.
Haroon, now clad in a torn shawl, walked past a chai stall. A young man nodded subtly — the contact. Inside a rundown mosque, they gathered.
"This is your moment," Haroon addressed six local sympathizers. "Tonight, we seize the telephone exchange and burn the Indian army ration depot."
"But CRPF has reinforced the area," one warned.
Haroon's face hardened. "If we wait, they'll see through our silence."
That night, synchronized chaos broke out. The Sopore telephone exchange was blasted with homemade explosives. In the eastern quarter, flames engulfed the ration depot. Leaflets proclaiming Azadi flew in the wind. Indian forces scrambled to respond.
Scene 4: Handwara Resistance
Location: Handwara Town | Date: August 6, 1965
Captain Javed's unit had taken position inside the courtyard of a Kashmiri school. Their orders: stir revolt and pin down any Indian patrols.
At dawn, a burst of gunfire echoed across the pine-covered slopes.
"They've spotted us!" shouted Tariq, manning the lookout.
"Fall back behind the classrooms!" Javed ordered. Bullets ripped through the wooden shutters. The group returned fire in measured bursts, keeping Indian troops guessing about their numbers.
By afternoon, Indian reinforcements arrived. A tense firefight broke out, drawing villagers out of their homes. Among them, a teenage boy began hurling stones at the Indian forces.
Javed turned to him. "Get back!"
The boy grinned defiantly. "I've waited years for this!"
Scene 5: GHQ Monitors the Storm
Location: GHQ Rawalpindi War Room | Date: August 6, 1965
Red markers lit up the northern flank of the map. Sopore, Handwara, Kupwara—disruption confirmed.
Major Zubair reported to General Musa. "Gibraltar is active. Communications hit. Civil unrest flaring."
Musa frowned, his fingers steepled. "And the Indian reaction?"
"Rapid deployment. Some air surveillance noted near Baramulla."
Bhutto entered briskly, eyes sharp. "Let them think this is internal. Our hand must remain invisible."
Musa replied, "They'll retaliate soon. Are we ready for Grand Slam?"
Bhutto smiled faintly. "Tell them to hold. But prepare the hammer."
Scene 6: A Widening Fire
Location: Village near Kupwara | Date: August 7, 1965
Haroon's team was now deep inside Indian-held territory. Supplies low. Communications erratic.
"We can't stay still," Liaqat warned. "Patrols sweep every night."
Haroon nodded. "Tonight we split. Group A heads to Lolab Valley. Group B with me—Kupwara police post."
As darkness fell, they moved like shadows. In Kupwara, they stormed the post, overpowered guards, and vanished before Indian reinforcements could arrive.
By morning, the Indian press called it a "wave of orchestrated terror." But in Azad Kashmir, the word was: Freedom fighters have returned.
Scene 7: A Flicker of Doubt
Location: Sopore Mosque Shelter | Date: August 8, 1965
Inside the damp prayer hall, Haroon stitched a wound on Liaqat's thigh.
"They're catching on," Liaqat hissed. "The locals are afraid now. They say the army's promising collective punishment."
Haroon stopped sewing. "We came to ignite a revolution. But now, I see fear. Silence."
Liaqat looked up. "Then what was the point?"
Haroon stood, walking to the mihrab, where sunlight filtered through broken glass.
"The point," he whispered, "was to shake the valley awake."
Scene 8: The Fuse Reaches Delhi
Location: New Delhi War Room | Date: August 9, 1965
Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's cabinet was in emergency session.
"This is no rebellion," said General Chaudhuri, Chief of Army Staff. "This is Pakistan's war by stealth. We need to respond."
"Strike back?" Shastri asked.
Chaudhuri nodded. "A full offensive across the international border. Lahore, Sialkot—no more restraint."
Scene 9: Countdown to Grand Slam
Location: GHQ, Rawalpindi | Date: August 10, 1965
Reports of Indian troop movements across Punjab arrived by the hour.
General Musa, Zubair, and Bhutto stood in tense silence.
"Gibraltar has done its job," Musa finally said. "India is provoked."
Bhutto leaned in. "Then we strike. Chamb will be their first lesson."
Zubair added softly, "Operation Grand Slam is green-lit."
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End of Chapter 16