Kargil Vijay Diwas comes and goes with veterans of the conflict being honoured at various ceremonies across the country, including at the war memorial at Drass, Ladakh. However, two soldiers have gradually faded away from public memory.They are Lance Naik Jagsir Singh and Sapper Mohammed Arif of the Army’s 108 Engineer Regiment who were captured by Pakistani forces on September 17, 1999, shortly after the Kargil conflict, and held for nearly five years before being repatriated on August 9, 2004, at the Wagah-Attari border.Both soldiers were given up as deserters by their regiment, much to the shame of their families. Their ordeal combined the hazards of the Line of Control (LoC), administrative failure by their own side, prolonged isolation, and the personal devastation inflicted on their families. A quiet diplomatic exchange restored them to India as prisoners of war rather than the deserters they had been branded.Capture after KargilThe Kargil conflict had formally ended. Units were engaged in post-war tasks including demining and consolidating positions along the LoC. Jagsir Singh and Mohammed Arif, both sappers attached in the area , were tasked on September 17, 1999, with moving explosives to a post intended to blast rocks and clear a path in the Mushkoh sector.They inadvertently crossed the LoC and were seized by Pakistani troops. Pakistan did not publicise their capture. Because the war was over, and because Pakistan later denied holding Indian prisoners of war, including at the 2001 Agra Summit, the two soldiers virtually vanished from official Indian records. Their regiment declared them deserters. An official report even claimed that unit personnel had sighted them days later—an assertion later shown to be inaccurate. Their names were struck off the rolls, salaries and benefits stopped, and police reports were filed in their villages. The stigma of desertion fell heavily on the families.The families left behindJagsir Singh belonged to Kot Bhai village in Punjab’s Muktsar district. His wife Jaswinder Kaur, mother Chhotu Kaur, and other relatives faced ostracism and hardship. His father Gurdev Singh died during the captivity years. Police pressure had added to the family’s distress. A daughter, Kuldeep Kaur, was born two months after his disappearance, and she grew up without ever seeing her father.Also Read | Military Digest: How Indian Army treated Pakistani prisoners of war after their surrender in 1971Mohammed Arif came from Kharkhoda Mundali village near Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. He had married Gudiya on February 24, 1999, and left for duty only weeks later. His mother died of grief. Believing him dead or a deserter, the family arranged for his wife to remarry; she later had a child with her second husband. The emotional and social costs for both households was profound.Captivity in PakistanStory continues below this adThe two were held for roughly four years and three months, primarily in facilities in or near Rawalpindi in Adiala Central Jail and earlier ISI-linked or undisclosed sites. Initial interrogation included beatings over the explosives they carried. They were then kept in dark, isolated cells. The men were handcuffed and blindfolded for brief toilet or bathing visits thrice daily and could not communicate with each other for long periods. Conditions improved somewhat later.After attacks on President Pervez Musharraf’s convoy in late 2003, cells became more crowded. Jagsir Singh developed serious health problems. They eventually shared space that allowed limited interaction and encountered at least one other Indian, a former intelligence operative from Jammu and Kashmir, who helped facilitate a letter home.In public statements after release, both men said they had not been treated with extreme cruelty overall and had not encountered other Indian military prisoners, though they met Indian civilians who had strayed across the border. Hope of release faded over the years.Discovery, diplomacy, and exchangeThe breakthrough came amid the India-Pakistan peace process of 2003–04. Pakistan’s director-general of military operations indicated to his Indian counterpart that the two men were in custody. Media reporting, notably by The Indian Express in May 2004, highlighted the injustice of the deserter label and the families’ plight. Army Chief General N C Vij ordered the deserter tag expunged and benefits restored with effect from June 2004, and interim relief reached the families.Story continues below this adConsular access was granted on July 26, 2004. Indian High Commission officials met the men in Rawalpindi, confirmed identities, and received letters for their families. On August 9, 2004, at a brief ceremony at Wagah, Pakistan handed over Jagsir Singh and Mohammed Arif. In exchange, India released Pakistani soldier Sepoy Salim Ali Shah of Northern Light Infantry, held since straying into Indian territory in 2002, and three civilians: Mohammed Ibrar Khan, Rashid Mahnaz and Nawabuddin.Homecoming and rebuildingJagsir Singh met his young daughter for the first time and was reunited with his wife and mother. Both men expressed overwhelming relief and a desire to rejoin their units and continue serving. They underwent medical examination and debriefing. Service benefits, including substantial back pay, were restored and the Army organised welcomes in their villages to signal that they had been captured in the line of duty.Personal recovery was uneven. Jagsir Singh later retired as a naik, joined the Punjab Police as a constable, and served in security roles, including as a guard for former finance minister Manpreet Badal.Arif faced the complicated aftermath of his wife’s remarriage. His wife subsequently died while a media frenzy took place on the unfortunate knot that the family found itself tied in.Story continues below this adIt would not be incorrect to call the two soldiers unacknowledged, unsung heroes. Their story remains a reminder of the individuals who can be lost, and occasionally found, in the fog of the India-Pakistan conflicts.