The Death of a Pakistani Sodier
by Somnath Batabyal
From the bestselling author of The Price You Pay comes a new story of grit, determination and hope set in the Kargil Mountains during the war of 1999. Captain Samir Singh Rathore and his men are posted on the treacherous heights of the Himalayas to rebuff the encroaching Pakistani army. As they camp and prepare to attack, the men intercept a conversation in which a Pakistani soldier, knowing he is going to die soon, says farewell to his wife. Her cry of pain rips through the bunker, overwhelming the Indians who listen in rapt attention as the man talks about the life they shall leave behind, the house he can no longer build and about their son who he hopes would grow up to be an army man. But their captain exhorts them to fight without compassion: 'This is a war not started by us, but we will finish it.' This is the human story behind a brutal war fought in inhuman conditions.