14th May 1662
The move made by Defence Minister Kiran Poojar immediately shocked many people in the empire. A base stretching seven kilometres, with all the living necessities and security measures needed for an armed force of 5,000 people to be stationed for years at a time, had never been thought of.
Until now, all the troops who were deployed to the Middle East in order to fight the proxy war of attrition with the Ottoman Empire only stayed there for a few months until they completed their mission and returned while someone else took their place.
One reason is that the war has been waged on a line of control with terrain that is very hilly and mountainous, which could be very harsh on soldiers who are not specifically trained to fight in that environment. But the other reason is that there is no stable base where everything is self-contained and there is a sense of security.