The 8 th issue of B&T is in your hands. B&T has travelled a long way after its maiden flight in June 2019. The editorial team is committed to producing scholarly, empirical and well-researched articles, anecdotes and narrations covering military history. We dedicate each number of B&T to an event of historical importance for Pakistan. The current issue is dedicated to Indo-Pak War 1947-48, also known as The First Kashmir War. Two articles,
namely Captain Hussain Khan, Fakhr-i-Kashmir, OBI, shaheed–A forgotten Hero of Kashmir Liberation War 1947-48 and Major Sloan in Kashmir, are written to commemorate our unsung heroes of Indo-Pak War 1947-48.
The Kashmir dispute has remained a flash point and led to three wars between India and Pakistan. The First Kashmir War witnessed many iconic battles. The Battle of Rawalakot was one, which saw the courage of Kashmiri freedom fighters under the charismatic leadership of Captain Hussain Khan, a brave Kashmiri veteran of two World Wars. Captain Hussain’s
role in defending Rawalakot made him a hero of The First Kashmir War 1947-48.
The article Major Sloan in Kashmir, is the story of a professional soldier who played a role in the occupation of important peaks in the Tithwal sector of Jammu and Kashmir in July 1948. The fall of Chunj, a salient feature in the area, stopped the Indian summer offensive towards Muzaffarabad. Major Sloan, a British army engineers officer, fought with the Pakistan Army during this operation, and lost his life on 10 th July 1948. A British officer killed in action
while serving Pakistan during an open war, is an unprecedented event of our military history.
Indo-Pak War 1971 is covered in each issue of B&T. The article Grit and Grief, with a Grin: The Battle of Kushtia; East Pakistan 9 th December 1971 pays tribute to the gallant soldiers of a lost war in East Pakistan. Despite being heavily outnumbered, our exhausted soldiers held their nerves and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy in Kushtia subsector of erstwhile East Pakistan.
Wishing you pleasant reading!