Article By: Salafi Izhar
Sometimes referred to as the third pole, the world’s second largest non- polar glacier known, as the Siachen Glacier has been yet another troublesome spot in a series of conflicts between India and Pakistan. Since 1984, both sides are trying to establish their supremacy over the Siachen glacier, which demarcates Central Asia from the Indian Subcontinent and separates Pakistan from China. Located in Ladakh (J&K) along the eastern Karakoram Range in the Himalaya Mountains, this inhospitable terrain where the cost of a single loaf of bread is Rs. 10000, stretches to 78Kms and situated at an altitude of 5,472 metres above sea level has taken heavy toll of men and resources on both India and Pakistan.
The Status Quo Conflict
Alarmed by the reports of some news magazines about the Pakistani presence in the hitherto unclaimed glaciers, the Indian army in April 1984 carried out an operation code-named "Meghdoot" and established permanent posts at the Siachen Glacier. The Indian army controls Siachen heights, holding on to the tactical advantage of high ground. Interestingly, the Pakistani soldiers cannot go up to the Glacier and the Indian forces cannot come down. Originally known as Saicher Gharni, the Siachen means the place of roses (Sia-rose, chen-place of). The fight for the Siachen Glacier involves territory claimed by both states but not controlled by either until the mid-1980s. India controls about two-thirds of the Glacier, which includes all the three passes including the Gyong La Pass that overlooks Shyok and Nubra river valleys and India's access to the Glacier from the Leh district in Ladakh. The other two passes being Sia La pass and Bilfond La pass. The glacier’s melting waters are the main source of the Nubra River, which falls into the Shyok River. The Shyok in turn joins the Indus River, crucial to both India and Pakistan.
The roots of the conflict over Siachen lie in the non-demarcations on the western side of the map beyond a grid point known as NJ 9842. Hostilities between India and Pakistan over ownership of the Glacier date back to the first Indo-Pak war of 1948, over the territorial dispute of Jammu & Kashmir. A Cease-Fire Line (CFL) was established because of the 1949 Indo-Pak agreement that concluded the war in Jammu & Kashmir. The CFL ran along the international Indo-Pak border and then north and northeast until map grid-point NJ 9842, located near the Shyok River at the base of the Saltoro mountain range. Because no Indian or Pakistani troops were present in the geographically inhospitable northeastern areas beyond NJ 9842, the CFL was not delineated as far as the Chinese border. Both sides agreed, in vague language, that the CFL extends to the terminal point, NJ 9842, and "thence north to the Glaciers".
After the 1965 India-Pakistan war, the Tashkent agreement resulted in troop withdrawals to positions along the 1949 CFL. No attempt was made to extend the CFL further. Following Pakistan's defeat in the 1971 war with India, the Simla Agreement of 1972 established a new Line of Control (LoC) because of the December 1971 cease-fire. The Siachen Glacier region, where no fighting had taken place, was left un-delineated, and no attempt was made to clarify the position of the LoC beyond NJ 9842. The LoC was merely described as moving from Nerlin (inclusive to India), Brilman (inclusive to Pakistan), up to Chorbat La in the Turtok sector.
During her tenure as Prime Minister of Pakistan, Ms Benazir Bhutto, visited the area west of Gyong La, making her the first premier from either side to get to the Siachen region. On June 12, 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the area, calling for a peaceful resolution of the problem. In the previous year, the President of India, Abdul Kalam became the first head of state to visit the area. India based Jet Airways plans to open a chartered service to the glacier's nearest air link, the Thoise airbase, mainly for military purposes. Pakistan's PIA flies tourists and trekkers daily to Skardu, which is the jumping off point for K2, the world's second highest point just 33 kilometers (20.5 miles) northwest of the Siachen area.
The present scenario
The Indian army holds a tactical advantage over the Pakistanis because of the high ground Indians are occupying. The Pakistanis control the glacial valley just five kilometers southwest of Gyong La. The line where Indian and Pakistani troops are presently holding onto their respective posts is being increasingly referred to as the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL).
The Pakistanis have been unable get up to the crest of the Saltoro Ridge (lying west of the glacier), while the Indians cannot come down and abandon their strategic high posts. A ceasefire went into effect in 2003. Even before then, every year more soldiers were killed because of severe weather than enemy firing. The two sides have lost an estimated 2,000 personnel primarily due to frostbite, avalanches and other complications. Both nations have 150 manned outposts along the glacier, with some 3,000 troops each. Official figures for maintaining these outposts are put at ~$300 and ~$200 million for India and Pakistan respectively. India has built the world's highest helipad on this glacier at a place called Sonam, which is at 21,000 feet (6,400 m) above the sea level, to serve the area. India also installed the world's highest telephone booth on the glacier. Both sides have been wishing to disengage from the costly military outposts but after the Kargil War in 1999 where Pakistan sent infiltrators to occupy vacated Indian posts across the Line of Control, India has backed off from withdrawing in Siachen. India may feel that the same thing may happen if they vacate their Siachen Glacier posts without any official confirmation of their positions.
With recent parleys between India and Pakistan, the conflict is actually shaping into a protracted one. The talks have ended without reaching any major breakthrough, although both sides have reaffirmed their commitment to abide by 2003 ceasefire. While India has refused to withdraw its troops from the glacier until Pakistan officially authenticates the positions held by the two sides before withdrawal. "Pakistan will have to demarcate the AGPL - both on the ground as well as on the map -- before any headway is made on the Siachen issue,” says Defense Minister AK Anthony while briefing the reporters on his maiden trip to the area on 5 May 2007. Pakistan responded to this statement by saying that Islamabad has all along maintained that it would authenticate the AGPL, as it existed in 1984. Pakistani officials have now been quoted as saying Islamabad would agree to verify the present troop positions only if India promised not to legally enforce the boundary.
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