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Indian Army conducts new ‘feasibility’ study on Siachen

	May 23, 2005

The Indian Army has completed a study of the situation at the Siachen glacier in Jammu and Kashmir, the scene of some of the most intense conflicts between India and Pakistan, and submitted its report to the Defence Ministry.

Army officials said the assessment was aimed at fully acquainting New Delhi with the situation on the glacier ahead of a meeting of Defence Secretaries of the two countries this week in Pakistan to discuss the issue of demilitarising the world’s highest battlefield.

The exercise by the Indian Army’s Northern Command took about two months, the officials said.

The study looked into Indian strategic needs at Siachen and the merits and demerits of pulling out troops from the glacier where they are deployed at heights of up to 21,000 ft.

The guns have fallen silent since a ceasefire became operative between Indian and Pakistani forces in November 2003 along the frontiers in Jammu and Kashmir, including the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line on Siachen.

There are no killings by firing now, but the treacherous weather continues to claim its share of human lives.

Army officials told a team of journalists in February that in the pre-ceasefire period, more than 100 soldiers died every year due to the combined assault of gunfire and the weather with temperatures dipping to minus 40 degrees Celsius.

The human cost of maintaining a presence on the glacier where not even a single blade of grass grows is very high. But the strategic positions have to be guarded - the traditional Indian Army argument that many say was reinforced after the Pakistani intrusion into the Kargil heights on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) in 1999.

Meanwhile reports from Islamabad have suggested that Pakistan will urge the demilitarisation of Siachen at talks with an Indian delegation that will begin on May 26.

“Pakistan will impress upon India to disengage troops to the positions held prior to the Simla Agreement of 1972,” The News reported, saying: “The talks... could prove to be the biggest test for the confidence-building measures between the two countries.”

Defence Secretary Lt. Gen. (retired) Tariq Waseem Ghazi will lead the Pakistani delegation. The Indian delegation, which will arrive a day ahead of the talks, will be led by Defence Secretary Ajay Vikram Singh.

“Pakistan would not authenticate India’s position in Siachen since Indian forces acted as an aggressor in the area, where the administration before 1984 was with Pakistan,” said The News, which normally represents the views of the Pakistani establishment.

The dispute between the two countries over the Siachen area erupted that year with troops exchanging fire.

India, however, says it deployed troops on the glacier only after Pakistan tried to occupy it. The Indian Army currently holds positions along the Saltoro Ridge overlooking Pakistani forces, and New Delhi has been insisting that these positions be verified before the glacier can be demilitarised.

“Pakistan has prepared its case with the support of internationally acclaimed documents wherein India’s presence has not been established anywhere in the area till 1984,” The News said, quoting sources.

“Pakistan is proposing to the Indians that the formal agreement that was finalised in 1989 and from which India backtracked at the eleventh hour should be made a base for the future course of arrangements.

“Islamabad, in no circumstances, will agree to a point that may establish de facto claim of India over Siachen as it will have direct bearing on an ultimate solution to the Kashmir dispute,” it quoted sources as saying.

Defence Secretary Ghazi will have a “detailed meeting” with President Pervez Musharraf to “seek his advice” ahead of the talks with India.

Quoting diplomatic observers, the newspaper said the Siachen talks “would help in determining the future course of confidence-building measures between Islamabad and New Delhi”.