India-Pakistan begin Siachen talks amidst clamour for demilitarization

Amidst growing clamour from the peace activists from both the countries to turn the world’s highest battlefield- Siachen Glacier- into “Mountain of Peace”, India and Pakistan on Monday began the defence secretary-level talks on the issue in Rawalpindi, the Garrison City of Pakistan. 

Even as Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani has sent feelers about softening of Paksitan’s stand on the issue in the aftermath of an avalanche in the region claiming lives of 140 Pakistani soldiers, nothing “dramatic” is likely to come out of the two-day talks. 

Indian Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma along with his Pakistani counterpart Nargis Sethi will hold talks to resolve the issue. Besides the delegation level meeting, the two defence secretaries are slated to have a one-on-one meeting as well. Sharma is accompanied by defence ministry and foreign ministry officials; and Director General of Miltiary Operations.

The talks are in the series of talks held by the two countries to reach a mutually agreed upon solution on the issue. Last Secretary-level talks were held in mid-2011 in New Delhi without yielding any results.

Both the Armies continue arduous deployment on the frigid heights of Siachen Glacier since 1984, the price paid in terms of lives claimed by harsh weather and money spent by these two developing countries. Even though not a single shot has been fired in the Siachen (literally translating into Valley of Roses) Glacier since 2002, the loss of lives on both side of the continues. India lost 26 soldiers in last one year alone.

The issue came to fore as the Pakistan Army suffered its worst tragedy as 140 soldiers were entombed in the region after a massive avalanche in April. Emphasising that both countries needed to resolve the Siachen issue, General Kayani had blamed India for a tough stand.

The bone of contention is that while India has been seeking authentication of present troop deployment in the region before demilitarization, Pakistan has been insisting on the restoration of troop positions as agreed in 1972 Shimla agreement.

Indian troops are sitting on dominating positions on the Glacier with a great strategic value for acting as buffer between Chinese controller Shaksgam valley and Pakistan occupied Baltistan.

The root of imbroglio is that 1949 Karachi agreement mentions no demarcation of border between the two countries beyond a peak marked NJ-9842 for reference and mentions that thereafter the border lies northward of the Glacier. This leaves a room for interpretation.

Pakistan claims that the line joins NJ 9842 with Karakoram Pass, which is North West of NJ 9842. The Indian position is that the line runs towards the glaciers along the watersheds formed by the Saltoro Range as per the internationally accepted principle of border delineation.