India, Pakistan begin Siachen talks

Under the shadow of Mumbai attack plotter David Coleman Headley’s damning testimony in a US court nailing the state factors of Pakistan behind anti-India terror, the defence secretaries of the two nuclear-armed neighbours began talks here Monday over the Siachen glacier, the highest battleground of the world in the Kashmir region where the two nations are engaged in a debilitating conflict since 1984.

The talks are beginning after an interval of three years. They had halted after the 26/11 attack in Mumbai in Nov 2008, but last year in Thimpu the prime ministers of both the nations agreed to resume dialogue.

Defence secretary Pradeep Kumar is leading the Indian side in the two-day talks while Pakistani is led by his counterpart Lt General (Retd) Syed Ather Ali.

The Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas, just east of the Line of Control between India and Pakistan.

The Siachen glacier is known for being the highest battleground on earth where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since April 1984.

Both countries maintain permanent military presence in the region at a height of over 6,000 metres (20,000 ft).

Owing to extreme weathers, both sides lost more military personnel in this highest battleground on earth from the elements of nature and its severity than any gunfire.

India and Pakistan have agreed to demilitarise the region but it remained a thorny issue.

India’s successful Operation Meghdoot in 1984 led to controlling the Siachen Glacier from Pakistan and forced the Pakistanis to retreat west of the Saltoro Ridge.

Pakistan controls the glacial valleys immediately west of the Saltoro Ridge.

Pakistan wants India to revert to the pre-1972 troop positions as agreed in the Simla Agreement, while India wants it to accept the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which passes through the Soltoro Ridge and Siachen Glacier.

Ahead of the talks, even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has upped the ante by commenting that “Pakistan’s leadership must now wake up, and must recognise that the terror machine they have or at least some elements in the country patronise, is working not to anybody’s advantage.”

India’s defence minister AK Antony on Sunday said there are 42 terror camps in Pakistan and the latter is using its weapons received from the US to fight the Afghanistan terrorists against India.