India-Pakistan and Siachen issue

THE two-day India-Pakistan talks on the Siachen issue in Rawalpindi concluded on Tuesday without any outcome. This is what was expected when both sides were giving hints of sticking to their stated positions. Defence Minister AK Antony had made it clear last week that “no dramatic announcement” should be expected as Pakistan was showing no sign of agreeing to India’s logical viewpoint that demilitarisation of the glacier was possible only when both countries’ troop positions on the Actual Ground Position Line were recorded and properly delineated on the ground as well as on the map. This is aimed at ensuring that Pakistani troops are not able to recapture the heights vacated by India. This is, however, not acceptable to Pakistan. It may reflect its real intentions.
Yet one should not lose hope for a breakthrough at some later stage as both sides have agreed to continue the Siachen dialogue. Pakistan will have to provide proof that it is really serious about troop withdrawal from the glacier area as stated by its army chief, Gen Ashfaq Kayani. Shaken by the Gyari avalanche disaster on April 7 resulting in the killing of 140 persons, including 129 Pakistani soldiers, the top Pakistani General said: “We want this issue to be resolved and it should happen. It is a tough mission for us and them, which has its costs.” India, too, has been supportive of demilitarisation of the Siachen area but only after ensuring that Pakistan is never able to repeat its 1999 adventure.
Pakistan’s problem is that it says something and does something else. It is faced with a serious financial crisis with US aid having been linked to its performance on the anti-terrorism front. China is not prepared to bail it out the way Pakistan wants it. Pakistan’s economy today survives mostly on aid from rich Arab countries like Saudi Arabia, but that is not enough. For Islamabad, therefore, there is no logic in maintaining its troop presence on the Siachen heights. Actually, demilitarisation of the glacier area is in the interest of development in both countries. The opportunity that has come with the realisation of this hard reality in Pakistan must be used to change the character of Siachen from the highest battlefield in the world to a glacier of peace.