Akhnoor Dagger

Last updated
Akhnoor Bulge
Akhnoor Dagger (named by Pakistan), Pakistan's Chicken neck (named by India)
Pakistan Punjab location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Akhnoor Bulge
Location in Punjab, Pakistan
Coordinates: 32°49′N74°41′E / 32.81°N 74.68°E / 32.81; 74.68
CountryFlag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan
Province Punjab
District Sialkot
Elevation
301 m (988 ft)
Time zone UTC+5:00 (PST)

Akhnoor Bulge, [1] (named Akhnoor Dagger by Pakistani Military, [2] [3] and as Pakistan's Akhnoor Chicken's neck Corridor by Indian Military) [3] [4] [5] is the name for a narrow strip of Pakistani territory that extends into the Indian administered-Jammu and Kashmir south of Akhnoor. This sensitive piece of land, which lies on the settled International Border but adjacent to the de facto Indo–Pakistani border on the west side of the disputed region Jammu and Kashmir, is part of Punjab Province's Sialkot District and measures roughly 170 km2 (66 sq mi). [6]

Contents

Akhnoor is less than 30 km from Jammu in India and less than 50 km from Sialkot in Pakistan. [6] While Akhnoor Bulge was not a primary focus of a major offensive during Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948, 1999 Kargil War, 2025 India–Pakistan conflict, and during Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 India held Akhnoor Bulge before it was returned to the Pakistan under the Simla Agreement of 1972, [7] the Akhnoor Bulge saw a major Pakistani attack only during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 (Operation Grand Slam) in which Pakistan eventually failed after making some initial gains. [8]

Earlier in 1965, when Akhnoor had only one bridge before India embarked on significant infrastructure development, the tip of the Pakistani area was less than 10 km from the only bridge across the Chenab River at Akhnoor in India. [9] In the 1965 war (Operation Grand Slam), Pakistan viewed the capture of the Akhnoor Bridge as a means of cutting Jammu and Kashmir—especially the Poonch and Rajouri districts—from the rest of India, as it was perceived as the sole corridor between mainland India and most of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. [9]

However, this Akhnoor Bulge being a "dagger" or India's "Chicken's Neck" vulnerability, as perceived by Pakistan in 1965, has since been described by some analysts as a strategic myth, "the so-called 'Chicken's Neck' or Akhnoor Dagger area... proved to be a liability for Pakistan rather than an asset in the 1971 war when Indian forces successfully captured the area". [10] This is evidenced by India's swift 1971 capture of the area, which effectively negated the perceived threat to Akhnoor. [11] Any perceived vulnerability of India is further mitigated by improved infrastructure development by India, which now has many more high-capacity bridges and numerous alternate transport links connecting Jammu to Akhnoor and India to wider Jammu and Kashmir region, providing redundancy and resilience to the military supply lines. [12]

In fact, the area has been argued to be a Pakistani vulnerability, as the land is a narrow doab between the Chenab and Tawi rivers surrounded by India from three sides, and is further doubly-isolated from the rest of Pakistan by the Chenab–Munawar Tawi doab to it's southwest within Pakistan. [10]

Etymology

Akhnoor, towns name, is from mughal era meaning "aankh ka noor" (lit. light of the eye), meaning precious, however Akhnoor town itself finds mention as the Virat Nagri (lit mighty city) in Mahabharata and Pandavas spent time in the area during the last year of their exile. [6]

Pakistan named the area Akhnoor dagger, symbolising an attacking dagger into Akhnoor as perceived by the Pakistani Military as a means of attack on Akhnoor and cutting Jammu and Kashmir from India. [6] [13]

Indian Army's Lieutenant General Zorawar Chand Bakshi, who was the GOC (general officer commanding) of the 26th Indian Infantry Division in Jammu during the 1971 India-Pakistan war, naming it as Pakistan's "'Chicken’s Neck' he said should be wrung and broken off", thus sucessfully changing India's stance from defensive to offensive, [6] [13] by busting Pakistani myth of dagger into India's so-called chicken neck vulnerability. [10]

Geography

It is a peninsula-like doab formed by the north-south flowing Chenab River and its tributary north-south flowing Tawi River (also known as the Jammu Tawi), both of which originate in the north in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir territory [14] [11] and confluence 8 km south of the Indian border in Pakistan at Marala Headworks near Dhallewali village of Sialkot District of Punjab province of Pakistan. [15] The north-south flowing Manawar Tawi River also confluences at Marala Headworks, forming a triveni sangam of the three rivers [15] , thus further isolating the Pakistan-held Akhnoor Bulge by the Chenab–Manawar Tawi doab on its western side, which is already isolated from the rest of Pakistan by the Chenab–Tawi doab. [11]

Marala Headworks is nearly 30 km south of Akhnoor in India [16] , 10–12 km south of the India-Pakistan border [16] , 20 km north of Sialkot [16] and 140 km north of Lahore [15] . The Pakistan-held area within the Chenab–Tawi doab is the narrow protrusion known by Pakistan as the "Dagger" and by India as the "Chicken's Neck", which is a strategically sensitive area because of its proximity to the crucial transport link to Akhnoor in India (such as NH-44 Srinagar-Kanyakumari Highway, Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway, and Jammu–Baramulla rail line). [13]

History

1965 War

During the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War, Pakistan launched a major attack Operation Grand Slam including in Akhnoor which aimed to capture Akhnoor through the Akhnoor Bulge, which could potentially have choked the Indian Army in the region; however, the plan failed. [2] [3]

Initial success and failure of Pakistan: Pakistani forces, with superior tanks and initial surprise, made rapid advances, capturing areas like Chhamb and Jourian and coming within a few kilometers of Akhnoor town. The Akhnoor sector was lightly defended by four Indian infantry battalions and a squadron of tanks. The infantry was stretched thin along the border and the AMX-13 tanks were no match for the Pakistani M47 Patton and M48 Patton tanks. Against a militarily stronger and larger Pakistani thrust, the Indian forces retreated from their defensive positions. According to Pakistani military historian Major (retd.) A. H. Amin, the Pakistani forces in Operation Grand Slam had a 6 to 1 advantage over Indian AMX-13 tanks, which were like 'matchboxes' in front of the Pakistani Pattons. In terms of artillery, Pakistan's 8-inch guns were superior to anything that Indians had at that time and had an overall superiority of 6 to 1. [17]

However, the operation was stalled due to a change in Pakistani command and, more importantly, because India responded by opening a new war front in the Lahore sector of Pakistan.. [2] : 23  [3]

1971 War

In the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971, the strip was captured by India and returned to Pakistan with the Simla Agreement the following year. [18]

While Pakistan was focused on its offensive in the Chhamb area, [19] [20] learning from 1965 Pakistani attack Indian forces proactively captured Pakistan's Chicken's Neck area (Akhnoor Dagger) on the night of 5-6th December 1971 and Pakistan made no further attempts to cross the river Munawar Tawi till the end of war. The Indian forces, commanded by Lieutenant General Zorawar Chand Bakhshi, executed a move to outflank the Pakistani forces and captured the Chicken's Neck in a move intended to isolate Pakistani forces and neutralise the "dagger" threat to Akhnoor. [21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Srinagar airbase is vulnerable to Pakistan attack. These are ways to secure it". ThePrint. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 10 December 2025. Future PAF operations, potentially coordinated with ground manoeuvres from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) or a thrust into the Akhnoor Bulge, could involve a larger, more sustained assault.
  2. 1 2 3 P. S. Bhagat (1974) [1966]. The Shield and the Sword: India 1965 and After, the New Dimensions (2nd ed.). Vikas. ISBN   9780706902914.
  3. 1 2 3 4 JS Sodhi (2024). China's War Clouds: The Great Chinese Checkmate. Blue Rose. pp.  114-115. ISBN   9789362614575.
  4. ↑ A tale of two ‘Chicken’s Necks’: How India’s armed forces kept Pakistan and China at bay, Scroll.in, 29 Feb 2020.
  5. ↑ [https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/a-strategic-grip-on-the-chicken-s-neck-3633987 A strategic grip on the Chicken's neck], deccanherald.com, 17 July 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Akhnoor’s place in India-Pakistan conflicts & why it’s in line of fire every time there’s a flare-up, ThePrint, 15 April 2025.
  7. ↑ Singh, Jaswant (2013). India at Risk: Mistakes, Misconceptions and Misadventures of Security Policy. Rupa Publications. p. 206. The strategic 'Chicken's Neck' area, which had been captured by India's 10 Infantry Division, was subsequently returned to Pakistan.
  8. ↑ Bhagat, P. S. (1969). The Defence of India and South East Asia. Allied Publishers. p. 123. The failure to capture Akhnoor... ultimately led to the ceasefire.
  9. 1 2 Dasgupta, Probal (29 February 2020). "A tale of two 'Chicken's Necks': How India's armed forces kept Pakistan and China at bay". Scroll.in. Retrieved 20 June 2025. A narrow strip of Pakistani land – an islet between the Chenab river and one of its subsidiary channels – protruded into Indian territory and provided access to the bridge to Akhnur over the Chenab river.
  10. 1 2 3 Pattanaik, Smruti S. (May 2018). "The Role of Geography in India–Pakistan Conflict". Security and Foreign Policy Journal. 2 (1): 45–58.
  11. 1 2 3 Singh, Lt Gen RK Jasbir (October–December 2021). "Battle of Chhamb: Indo-Pak War 1971" (PDF). United Service Institution of India. The Indian move into the Chicken's Neck... negated the 'dagger' threat to Akhnoor.
  12. ↑ "Akhnoor to Jammu Connectivity Boost: New Bridge Project Sanctioned". Times Now. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 Minj, Nolina (29 February 2020). "A tale of two 'Chicken's Necks': How India's armed forces kept Pakistan and China at bay". Scroll.in. A narrow strip of Pakistani land – an islet between the Chenab river and one of its subsidiary channels – protruded into Indian territory and provided access to the bridge to Akhnur over the Chenab river. The Pakistanis called it the Akhnur dagger while Indians later named it the "chicken's neck"
  14. ↑ Naqvi, Syed Ghulam Abbas (2012). Indus Waters and Social Change. Indus Publications. p. 24.
  15. 1 2 3 "Marala Headworks" (PDF). Pakistan Engineering Congress. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  16. 1 2 3 Shakir, Abdul Sattar (2009). "Marala Barrage Engineering Details". Scribd. Retrieved 10 December 2025. The Marala Barrage itself is specifically situated ... approximately 25 km from the foothills of the Pir Punjal Range in Akhnor, and 10 km downstream from the point where the river enters Pakistan from Indian-occupied Jammu & Kashmir.
  17. ↑ Amin, Major A. H. "Pakistan army till 1965". defence analyst. pg 41. Archived from the original on 4 January 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  18. ↑ Sunil Sharan (2021). Modi 2.0: Beyond the Ordinary. Bloomsbury India. p.  21. ISBN   9789389449754.
  19. ↑ Kamm, Henry (1971-12-13). "Pakistani Forces Take Ghost Town in Kashmir". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  20. ↑ "Agreement between the Government of India and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on Bilateral Relations (Simla Agreement)". UN Peacemaker. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  21. ↑ Indo-Pak war 1971 and the Battle of Chhamb, Times of India, 17 June 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.