Mir Shabair
Srinagar, Jul 23 (BuzzBytes): Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will undertake a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on July 25 and 26 in connection with Kargil Vijay Divas 2026 celebrations, during which he is expected to pay tribute to the martyrs of the 1999 Kargil war at the Dras War Memorial and hold a security review with senior Army commanders in Srinagar.
Government sources said the Defence Minister, despite engagements during Parliament’s Monsoon Session, has decided to attend the Kargil Vijay Divas events, considered a key occasion nationally for honouring military sacrifice and valour. Rajnath Singh is expected to arrive in Srinagar from New Delhi on the afternoon or evening of July 25 and meet senior military officials at 15 Corps headquarters, Badami Bagh. Although the final schedule is to be issued on Friday, the meeting is expected to include a detailed discussion on the prevailing security situation in the Kashmir Valley and Jammu region, the situation along the Line of Control, counter-terrorism operations, and security arrangements for the Amarnath Yatra. On the morning of July 26, the Defence Minister will fly by helicopter to Dras, where he will attend the main ceremony at the Kargil War Memorial, lay a wreath in tribute to soldiers martyred in the Kargil war, and is expected to address the gathering, before returning to New Delhi.
This year’s Kargil Vijay Divas ceremony will also be attended by Army Chief General Dheeraj Seth — his first official visit to Ladakh since assuming the post of Chief of Army Staff on June 30, 2026. Sources said General Seth may also visit the 14 Corps headquarters in Leh to review the operational preparedness of formations deployed in eastern Ladakh. The Defence Minister and Army Chief will be accompanied by Northern Command chief Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma and 14 Corps GOC Lieutenant General Madan Raj Pandey. Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena, Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Council chairman Dr Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon, senior civil and military officials, war veterans, families of martyrs and a large number of local residents are also expected to attend. Security has been tightened in Dras and Kargil ahead of the ceremony, with the Army, J&K Police, Ladakh Police and other agencies jointly deployed and surveillance stepped up at sensitive locations along the highway.
Kargil Vijay Divas is observed every July 26 to mark India’s victory in the 1999 Kargil war, in which the Indian Army recaptured Kargil’s snow-capped peaks after nearly 85 days of intense fighting that began in May 1999. The war claimed 527 Indian soldiers, while official figures put Pakistani military and infiltrator casualties at around 4,000.
—(BuzzBytes)
