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Capture of Kishangarh Fort
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The capture of the Kishangarh Fort in Rajasthan State India took place during the 1965 War between India and Pakistan. Background The outpost is around 11 kilometres (Lat 27.871 N,Lon 70.563 E) inside Indian territory, in the so-called Jaisalmer Bulge. It is a small mud Structure 70 by 60 metres across. It sits 22 km east of the town of Tanot towards the International border. It also sits on the only road linking any part of Rajasthan with the Pakistani city of Rahim Yar Khan. The Desert Sector was a mere sideshow in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War. Both sides had little experience in desert fighting at the time, and moreover the main industrial, and economic heartland of Pakistan and India were to the north. As a result, when war came the Indians main effort would be against Lahore and Sialkot in the Punjab. However the Indians left some forces in the region with the aim of launching local offensives. Pakistani army troops in the region were already very stretched, having to defend a sector nearly a thousand km in length. To counteract this effort, the commander Pakistan Army Rangers asked the local people for help. The Hurs The Hurs were and are the main tribe living in this area. At the time of the 1965 War the spiritual leader of the Hur was the Pir Pagaro. The Hurs had earlier not joined the Pakistan Army in any numbers, however with the coming of war, thousands volunteered to fight against the Indians. The Hurs were (due to constraints of finances as well as time) given only basic training and armed with light weapons such as machine guns and assault rifles. The militia was placed under the Pakistani military and para-military forces operating in the sector (known collectively as the "Desert Force"). The Hur militia was commanded by the Faqir Jamal Mangrio.
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