Samyam517: Starting a details

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{{Infobox settlement
| name = Akhnoor Bulge
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| other_name = Akhnoor Dagger (named by Pakistan), Pakistan's Chicken neck (named by India)
| nickname =
| settlement_type =
| image_skyline =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| pushpin_map = Pakistan Punjab
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in [[Punjab, Pakistan]]
| coordinates = {{coord|32.81|74.68|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|Pakistan}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Administrative units of Pakistan|Province]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of Pakistan|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Sialkot District|Sialkot]]
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| founder =
| named_for =
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| area_footnotes =
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| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 301
| population_total =
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_rank =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| population_footnotes =
| demographics_type1 =
| demographics1_title1 =
| demographics1_info1 =
| demographics_type2 =
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| demographics2_info2 =
| timezone1 = [[Pakistan Standard Time|PST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:00
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}}

'''Akhnoor Bulge''',<ref name="ThePrintBulge">{{cite web|title=Srinagar airbase is vulnerable to Pakistan attack. These are ways to secure it|website=ThePrint|url=https://theprint.in/opinion/srinagar-airbase-pakistan-attack/2631897/|date=21 May 2025|access-date=10 December 2025|quote=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.}}</ref> (named '''Akhnoor Dagger''' by [[Pakistani Military]],<ref name="Bhagat">{{cite book|author=P. S. Bhagat |title=The Shield and the Sword: India 1965 and After, the New Dimensions |edition=2nd |publisher=Vikas |date=1974 |orig-date=1966 |url=https://archive.org/details/shieldswordindia0000bhag/page/n5/mode/2up |isbn=9780706902914}}</ref><ref name="Sodhi">{{cite book|author=JS Sodhi |title=China's War Clouds: The Great Chinese Checkmate |date= 2024 |publisher=Blue Rose |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zOwaEQAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&pg=PA115#v=onepage&q&f=false 114-115] |isbn=9789362614575}}</ref> and as '''Pakistan's Akhnoor Chicken's neck Corridor''' by [[Indian Military]])<ref name="Sodhi"/><ref name=cn1>[https://scroll.in/article/954234/a-tale-of-two-chickens-necks-how-indias-armed-forces-kept-pakistan-and-china-at-bay A tale of two ‘Chicken’s Necks’: How India’s armed forces kept Pakistan and China at bay], Scroll.in, 29 Feb 2020.</ref><ref name=cn2>[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.</ref> is the name for a narrow strip of [[Pakistan]]i territory that extends into the [[India]]n administered-[[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] south of [[Akhnoor]]. This sensitive piece of land, which lies on the [[India–Pakistan border#IB|settled International Border]] but adjacent to the [[India–Pakistan border#WB|''de facto'' Indo–Pakistani border]] on the west side of the [[Kashmir conflict|disputed region Jammu and Kashmir]], is part of [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab Province]]'s [[Sialkot District]] and measures roughly {{convert|170|km²|abbr=on}}.<ref name=ptina1/>

Akhnoor is less than 30 km from Jammu in India and less than 50 km from Sialkot in Pakistan.<ref name=ptina1>[https://theprint.in/india/akhnoors-place-in-india-pakistan-conflicts-why-its-in-line-of-fire-every-time-theres-a-flare-up/2626717 Akhnoor’s place in India-Pakistan conflicts & why it’s in line of fire every time there is a flare-up], ThePrint, 15 April 2025.</ref> While Akhnoor Bulge was not a primary focus of a major offensive during [[Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948]], [[Kargil War|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,<ref name="SimlaAgreement">{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Jaswant|title=India at Risk: Mistakes, Misconceptions and Misadventures of Security Policy|publisher=Rupa Publications|year=2013|pages=206|quote=The strategic 'Chicken's Neck' area, which had been captured by India's 10 Infantry Division, was subsequently returned to Pakistan.}}</ref> 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.<ref name="BhagatD">{{cite book|last=Bhagat|first=P. S.|title=The Defence of India and South East Asia|publisher=Allied Publishers|year=1969|pages=123|quote=The failure to capture Akhnoor... ultimately led to the ceasefire.}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Dasgupta">{{cite web|last=Dasgupta|first=Probal|title=A tale of two 'Chicken's Necks': How India's armed forces kept Pakistan and China at bay|website=Scroll.in|date=29 February 2020|url=https://scroll.in/article/954234/a-tale-of-two-chickens-necks-how-indias-armed-forces-kept-pakistan-and-china-at-bay|access-date=20 June 2025|quote=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.}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Dasgupta"/>

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"''.<ref name="Pattanaik">{{cite journal|last=Pattanaik|first=Smruti S.|title=The Role of Geography in India–Pakistan Conflict|journal=Security and Foreign Policy Journal|date=May 2018|volume=2|issue=1|pages=45–58|url=http://www.securityandforeignpolicy.com/the-role-of-geography-in-india-pakistan-conflict/}}</ref> This is evidenced by India's swift 1971 capture of the area, which effectively negated the perceived threat to Akhnoor.<ref name="SinghUSI">{{cite journal|last=Singh|first=Lt Gen RK Jasbir|title=Battle of Chhamb: Indo-Pak War 1971|journal=United Service Institution of India|date=October–December 2021|url=https://usiofindia.org/pdf/8--USI%20Journal%20-%20Oct-Dec%202021%20Issue%20-%204-88-118.pdf|quote=The Indian move into the Chicken's Neck... negated the 'dagger' threat to Akhnoor.}}</ref> Any perceived vulnerability of India is further mitigated by improved infrastructure development by India, which now has many more high-capacity bridges and [[Leh#Modern highways|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.<ref name="TimesNow">{{cite web|title=Akhnoor to Jammu Connectivity Boost: New Bridge Project Sanctioned|publisher=Times Now|date=12 March 2024|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/india/akhnoor-to-jammu-connectivity-boost-new-bridge-project-sanctioned-article-9856578|access-date=10 December 2025}}</ref>

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 its southwest within Pakistan.<ref name="Pattanaik"/>

==Etymology==

''Akhnoor'', towns name, is from [[Mughal Empire|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 [[Pandava]]s spent time in the area during the last year of their exile.<ref name=ptina1/>

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.<ref name=ptina1/><ref name="ScrollChicken"/>

[[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 successfully changing India's stance from [[Strategic defence|defensive]] to [[Offensive (military)|offensive]],<ref name=ptina1/><ref name="ScrollChicken"/> by busting Pakistani myth of dagger into India's so-called chicken neck vulnerability.<ref name="Pattanaik"/>

==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 (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir territory]]<ref name="Naqvi24">{{cite book|last=Naqvi|first=Syed Ghulam Abbas|title=Indus Waters and Social Change|publisher=Indus Publications|year=2012|pages=24}}</ref><ref name="SinghUSI"/> and confluence 8 km south of the Indian border in Pakistan at [[Marala Headworks]] near [[Dhallewali]] village of [[Sialkot District]] of [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab province]] of Pakistan.<ref name="PakistanEng">{{cite web|title=Marala Headworks|publisher=Pakistan Engineering Congress|url=https://pecongress.org.pk/images/upload/books/Paper360.pdf|access-date=10 December 2025}}</ref> The north–south flowing [[Manawar Tawi River]] also confluences at Marala Headworks, forming a [[Triveni Sangam|triveni sangam]] of the three rivers,<ref name="PakistanEng"/> 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.<ref name="SinghUSI"/>

Marala Headworks is nearly 30 km south of [[Akhnoor]] in India,<ref name="ScribdBarrage">{{cite web|last=Shakir|first=Abdul Sattar|title=Marala Barrage Engineering Details|publisher=Scribd|date=2009|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/890811287/Marala-Barrage-Engineering-Details|access-date=10 December 2025|quote=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.}}</ref> 10–12 km south of the India-Pakistan border,<ref name="ScribdBarrage"/> 20 km north of [[Sialkot]]<ref name="ScribdBarrage"/> and 140 km north of [[Lahore]].<ref name="PakistanEng"/> 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 [[National Highway 44 (India)|NH-44 Srinagar-Kanyakumari Highway]], [[Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway]], and [[Jammu–Baramulla line|Jammu–Baramulla rail line]]).<ref name="ScrollChicken">{{cite web|last=Minj|first=Nolina|title=A tale of two 'Chicken's Necks': How India's armed forces kept Pakistan and China at bay|website=Scroll.in|date=29 February 2020|url=https://scroll.in/article/954234/a-tale-of-two-chickens-necks-how-indias-armed-forces-kept-pakistan-and-china-at-bay|quote=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”}}</ref>

==History ==

===1965 War ===
{{anchor | 1965}}

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.<ref name="Bhagat"/><ref name="Sodhi"/>

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/55-caliber gun|8-inch guns]] were superior to anything that Indians had at that time and had an overall superiority of 6 to 1.<ref name="A H Amin">{{cite web |last=Amin |first=Major A. H. |title=Pakistan army till 1965 |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/21693873/Indo-Pak-Wars-1947-71-A-STRATEGIC-AND-OPERATIONAL-ANALYSIS-BY-A-H-AMIN-THIS-BOOK-CAN-BE-PRINTED-FROM-THIS-SITE |work=defence analyst |publisher=pg 41 |access-date=27 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104091720/https://www.scribd.com/doc/21693873/Indo-Pak-Wars-1947-71-A-STRATEGIC-AND-OPERATIONAL-ANALYSIS-BY-A-H-AMIN-THIS-BOOK-CAN-BE-PRINTED-FROM-THIS-SITE |archive-date=4 January 2012}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Bhagat"/>{{rp|23}}<ref name="Sodhi"/>

===1971 War ===
{{anchor | 1971 }}

In the [[Indo-Pakistani war of 1971]], the strip was captured by India and returned to Pakistan with the [[Simla Agreement]] the following year.<ref name=sim1>{{cite book|author=Sunil Sharan |title=Modi 2.0: Beyond the Ordinary |year=2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury India |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dMMpEAAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PA1&pg=PT21#v=onepage&q&f=false 21] |isbn=9789389449754 }}</ref>

While Pakistan was focused on its [[Battle of Chumb|offensive in the Chhamb area]],<ref name="NYT 1971-12-13">{{Cite news |last=Kamm |first=Henry |date=1971-12-13 |title=Pakistani Forces Take Ghost Town in Kashmir |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/13/archives/pakistani-forces-take-ghost-town-in-kashmir.html |access-date=2023-04-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Agreement between the Government of India and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on Bilateral Relations (Simla Agreement) |publisher=UN Peacemaker |url=https://peacemaker.un.org/indiapakistan-simlaagreement72 |access-date=2023-12-12}}</ref> learning from 1965 Pakistani attack Indian forces proactively captured Pakistan's Chicken's Neck area (Akhnoor Dagger) on the night of 5–6 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.<ref>[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/col-nagial/indo-pak-war-1971-and-the-battle-of-chhamb/ Indo-Pak war 1971 and the Battle of Chhamb], Times of India, 17 June 2022.</ref>

==See also ==

* [[Chicken's neck (disambiguation)|Chicken's neck]], disambiguation
* [[Siliguri Corridor]], India's perceived chicken neck corridor
* [[Siliguri Corridor#BD|Bangladesh's Chicken neck corridors]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m_eoUJf3n4 Pakistan's Chicken Neck: How India can take Control | Akhnoor Dagger] – video showing the location of the Akhnoor Dagger {{in lang|hi}}

[[Category:Regions of Punjab, Pakistan]]
[[Category:Geography of Punjab, Pakistan]]
[[Category:Sialkot District]]
[[Category:Jammu district]]
[[Category:India–Pakistan border]]

Akhnoor Dagger - Revision history

Samyam517: Starting a details