New Delhi, September 19: Dismissing the peace overtures of his Pakistani counterpart General Ashfaq Kayani, Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh on Wednesday said that India will continue holding Siachen Glacier as it continues to be strategically important for the country.
Defence Minister AK Antony and Army Chief General Bikram Singh during a visit to J-K
The Army Chief also dismissed idea of any change in the force’s stance vis-à-vis the Glacier –became a point of contention between the two arch-rivals India and Pakistan after Indian Army’s Operation Meghdoot in 1984. Since then the Glacier has earned many monikers like the “Highest Battlefield” and “Frozen Frontier”. “We have not changed (stand on Siachen Glacier). It (Siachen Glacier) is very important. We must continue to hold that area, that is very important,” the General replied in response to a query if there was a change in the Army’s stand following Pakistan Army Chief’s suggestion about withdrawal of troops from the region and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s personal suggestion about turning Siachen Glacier into a peace park.
“We have lost lot of lives there, blood has been shed there.
These tops are of strategic importance for us….We have conveyed our concern to
the government,” General Singh added.
Siachen War Memorial
It was 28 years ago on April 13 that India started an operation on the world’s highest and unforgiving battleground – the Siachen Glacier – and it is continuing still at the cost of lives of 950 Indian soldiers and an annual spending of around Rs. 730 crore.
The death of 130 Pakistani soldiers in Siachen Glacier following a massive avalanche has brought back the focus to the highest battleground in the world where more lives have been claimed by weather than by bullet.
The total number of deaths on the Indian side of the 72 km-long Glacier since 1984, when Indian troops captured the dominating heights in the region, has been 950 whereas 12,000 soldiers have suffered injury. The number declined considerably following a ceasefire between the two countries in 2003.
No comments:
Post a Comment