‘FROM ‘QUAID’ TO ‘BANA’’- The Capture of Quaid Post in Siachen

Col Ajay Singh (Retd)

Pune, 8 July 2021: In April 1984, Indian troops beat Pakistani soldiers by just four days to occupy positions on the Siachen glacier. Pakistani attacks to evict them failed and then they too began occupying posts on the heights.

One of the lynch pins of the Pakistani positions was the Quaid Post – named after Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the father of their nation. At 21,153 feet, it was the highest peak in the area. From here, they could see all of Siachen glacier and observe important Indian positions and their helipads. Held by elite troops of the Shaheen Company of 3 Special Services Group, it was commanded by Subedar Atauallah Mohammed with a squad of around 15 – 20 men and considered virtually impregnable.

A Pakistani Sentry stands guard at the Quaid Post

On 18 April 87, Pakistani troops from Quaid fired at the Indian Sonam Post killing two soldiers. It was then that the Indians decided to capture the post and eliminate the threat once and for all. 8 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, a unit recently inducted into the area was selected for the task.

On 29 May, a 13 man patrol under young Second Lieutenant Rajiv Pande was sent to on a reconnaissance patrol to Quaid post. The Post was surrounded by Ice walls on three sides, with the fourth side covered by the Pakistanis. They began climbing up the 85 degree ice wall, establishing pitons in the ice that would provide footholds for the subsequent assaults. They also passed a rope through the coupling links which could be used to climb up for a subsequent assault. As they climbed up the 500 meter high ice wall, they were detected just 50 meters from the top. A Pakistani machine gun opened up, and raked the small team with fire, killing ten soldiers including Lieutenant Rajiv who fell to his death.

Climbing the Ice Wall

The deaths of the young officer and his men put a pall of gloom over 8 JAKLI. This mood soon gave way to one of anger and revenge. Another hand-picked assault group was assembled under Major Varinder Singh Minhas (later Brigadier) and his Second in command Captain Anil Sharma, three JCOs, (Subedar Harnam Singh, Subedar Sansar Chand and Naib Subedar Bana Singh) and 57 other ranks. This operation was code named Operation Rajiv, in honour of Lieutenant Rajiv Pande.

The assault group assembled in Sonam Post on the night 23 June, and the next night (24 June) a ten man team led by Subedar Harnam Singh set out on the same route taken by Lt Rajiv. The route from Sonam post was along a razor sharp spur, where a single misstep could hurl them hundreds of feet below. The party found the rope buried beneath the snow which led them to the footholds, so painstakingly made by Lt Rajiv’s earlier team. They also found the bodies of Lt Rajiv and his men, still preserved in the sub-zero temperatures. As Harnam Singh’s men moved forward, they were detected by the Pakistanis who brought down Machine Gun fire on them. They were unable to return the fire since their own weapons had frozen solid. (It was later discovered that the Pakistanis kept a lit kerosene stove beneath the Machine Gun to ensure it remained warm and could continue firing). Two men were killed in the fire and the rest withdrew, bringing with them the bodies of their comrades.

The next night (25-26 June) another attack was to be launched, but though the teams reached near the post, this attack had to be abandoned since the radio set failed and no communication was possible. The team then decided to spend the night on the ice caves and crags and attack the next day. They were exhausted after three days in the open. The men were reduced to licking icicles to quench their thirst and had burrowed in the snow to avoid detection and enemy fire. Men began suffering from hallucinations and mental breakdowns but they still mustered the final reserves of energy for a final attack.

The next morning, on 26 June, two teams – one of eight men led by Major Varinder and another of five led by Naib Subedar Bana Singh climbed up the icy wall and reached the vicinity of the post. The weather was atrocious and a blizzard was raging. Though it was noon, it was virtually pitch dark conditions. The Pakistanis obviously did not expect an attack in these conditions.

It was now or never. Varinder Singh decided to launch a daylight attack from two sides. At exactly eleven minutes past noon, the assault went in. Varinder’s own team came under heavy fire and could not advance, but Bana Singh with his small team of Rifleman Chunni Lal, Laxman Das, Om Raj and Kashmir Chand assaulted the Pakistani bunkers. As they closed in on the bunker, to their horror, their weapons jammed in the intense cold and refused to fire. Undeterred, they closed in and Bana Singh hurled a grenade inside, closing the door to compound the effect. The occupants inside were killed, but other Pakistani soldiers closed in. In the hand to hand fighting, six Pakistanis were bayoneted to death. The Pakistani machine gun which had caused so much havoc was now turned towards the Pakistani positions. The kerosene stove which the Pakistanis used to keep it warm was used to cook rice, the first real meal the men had in three days. Quaid post had changed hands, but it was done without much fanfare. As Bana Singh himself put it – at 22,000 feet no one has the energy to do a ‘bhangra’ or even emit a victory whoop.

Subsequent Pakistani attempts to recapture the post failed. And just a day after its capture, Quaid Post – the symbolic and strategic centerpiece of Pakistani operations in Siachen, was renamed as Bana Post. And that is how it still remains.

(You could see a video of the capture of Quaid post at )

(Ajay Singh is the author of ‘India’s battlefields, from Kurukshetra to Balakot’ – from where this article has been extracted)

Join our WhatsApp Group, Telegram, and Twitter for every update about Pune and PCMC