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Indo-Pak Siachen Talks Fail
The 10th round of talks between India and Pakistan on demilitarizating the Siachen glacier failed in the final stages.Indian Defence Ministry sources said the negotiations failed thanks to pressure from the Indian Army to keep troops on what is dubbed the highest battlefield in the world until adequate guarantees are agreed to by Pakistan. On May 24, the second day of talks here, Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced the failure of the talks to reporters even as the two countries defense secretaries Indias Shekhar Dut and Pakistans Tariq Waseem Ghazi, a retired lieutenant general were still negotiating. Perhaps there can be upward movement in another round of talks, Mukherjee said. The Indian Defence Ministry sources said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was inclined for a solution, saying the Siachen glacier should be a mountain of peace. But the Army officers impressed upon the prime ministers office that it would be unwise to withdraw from their present advantageous positions on the Siachen without guarantees that Pakistan would not later take back these positions unilaterally. India, they said, could not reclaim the positions without heavy casualties in the difficult terrain. The Army wants demarcation of the 110-kilometer actual ground position line (AGPL). India and Pakistan agreed to a cease-fire in November 2003 along the 750-kilometer Line of Control between India and Pakistan in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and the AGPL. Though some parts of the Siachen area are accessible to the Pakistanis by road, Indian troops must use helicopters. India spends about $3 million daily on logistics to ferry troops and material on and off the more than 22,000-foot glacier. Posted by: john 2006-06-05 |
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