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India opens Siachen to trekkers
NEW DELHI: In a clear signal to Pakistan that the Siachen Glacier-Saltoro Ridge region will remain "non-negotiable" till it accepts Indian conditions, India is now actively encouraging mountaineering and trekking expeditions to the forbidding glacial heights.The expeditions are also meant to show to the international audience that Indian troops hold "almost all dominating heights" on Saltoro Ridge, which is the highest watershed in the area and towers along the western edge of the glacier. And, of course, that Pakistani troops are nowhere near the 72-km-long Siachen Glacier. Sources said a 16-member Indo-French expedition to Mamostong Kangri peak, located about 30-km east of the snout of Siachen Glacier, took place between July 30 and September 1. A 33-member Army expedition is currently underway to the same area. Another Indian Mountaineering Federation expedition to Rimo Peak, which is located east of Siachen and overlooks Aksai Chin, was launched on September 6, with six civilians and four Army soldiers. Interestingly, it was Pakistans grant of permit to a Japanese expedition to climb Rimo Peak in 1984, in the hope of laying a legal claim to the area, which had acted as the final provocation for India to airlift troops to the region. The Indian troops had occupied Saltoro Ridge heights, ranging from 16,000-feet to 22,000-feet, against daunting odds under 'Operation Meghdhoot' in April 1984, beating Pakistani troops from doing the same by just a whisker. Apart from the expeditions, the Army is now also going to organise "trekking trips" as a "civilian adventure activity" to the worlds highest, coldest and costliest battlefield since it no longer witnesses fierce artillery duels due to the ongoing Indo-Pak ceasefire. A group of 20, including eight to nine civilians and cadets from NCC, Rashtriya Indian Military College and Indian Military Academy, will be part of the first such trekking trip from September 19. "The group will acclimatise and train at Leh for 10 days before they are sent to the Siachen base camp for further training. Thereafter, they will trek, through heights varying between 14,000-feet and 16,000-feet, to reach the forward Kumar Post," said an officer. This frenzy of activity at the glacial heights comes at a time when 11 rounds of Indo-Pak defence secretary-level talks, the last held in April, as well as back-channel contacts have failed to achieve a major breakthrough in the Siachen dispute. Defence minister A K Antony has made it clear Pakistan will have to "authenticate" the relative troop positions both on the map and on the ground along the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) before any forward movement can take place. The AGPL stretches beyond the NJ-9842 grid reference point, where the well-delineated Line of Control simply stopped dead in the 1972 Shimla Pact, right till the Karakoram Pass. With the trust deficit with Pakistan yet to be bridged, India wants the AGPL to be "authenticated" first as an international safeguard before any troop disengagement, withdrawal and the final demilitarisation of the glacier. Pakistan, on its part, has shown some willingness for this in recent times but is yet to fully meet Indias demand. India, of course, is in no particular hurry to vacate the heights since it has stopped "bleeding" like before due to better infrastructure and facilities in place there. Posted by: john frum 2007-09-13 |
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