Will summit cool down the 'hot' Siachen

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR JULY 10. Among the major issues, which analysts believe may figure at the India-Pakistan summit is Siachen Glacier, the world's highest battlefield where both the countries are paying a heavy price. It is an undeclared war there and it has been going on for the past 16 years, but neither side could claim to have gained an advantageous position. The armies of both the countries do not want to continue with the hostilities. But the whole Kashmir problem has turned to be a complex one and the politics involved keeps the icy land always hot.

Notwithstanding the fact that the gunfight goes on unabated to keep troop morale high, 90 per cent of the casualties are because of extreme cold which leads frost bite and high pulmonary and cerebral oedema. According to an estimate, the inclement weather has left around 12,000 soldiers disabled and hundreds killed since 1984.

A senior officer who served in area said ``the war here is being fought against all medical principles.'' It is a three pronged war - the enemy, the terrain and the climate. The terrain, full with bottomless crevasses, is the biggest challenge for soldiers.

As both sides privately admit that the war is being fought for nothing and only end up creating an environmental disaster in the ``beautiful hell'', a discussion on disengagement of troops during the summit is not ruled out. A whopping Rs. 3 crores is spent by both countries on Siachen every day. A conservative estimate shows that nearly Rs. 23,000 crores has been spent by both sides on keeping the battle zone alive since 1984. ``It has turned out to be a war of prestige as to continue the hold over the ice is of no advantage to any of the countries'' said a senior Army officer.

The life of a soldier on the wind swept glacier, the second largest outside Antarctica, is full of misery, but after every three months the replacements continue to ``conquer'' the hard icy post which a soldier cannot reach in less than 21 days from the base camp. ``You see the hole-type post, the floor, the walls and roof of which are of ice, is our kitchen, drawing room, bedroom, '' a soldier told this correspondent during a visit to the area in 1997.

Why has there not been an agreement on Siachen despite five rounds of talks between India and Pakistan? In the Karachi Agreement of 1949, the ceasefire line now referred to as the Line of Control (LoC) stops at map coordinates NJ 9842 (latitude 98 degrees east and longitude 42 degrees north). The LoC was not drawn beyond this point because there had been no military engagement there. As the area was full of crevasses and was considered uninhabitable, there was again no mention in the Shimla agreement.

What lead to the war between the two countries was mountaineering. Foreign trekkers would not have found a much better peak to take on and when they approached the Indian authorities they were refused permission. They approached Pakistan and it gave the go ahead. As the area became a popular destination for mountain lovers, it was started to be shown as part of Pakistan, say Indian authorities. Pakistan ``occupied'' a 10,000 sq km., including the glacier.

The move was resisted by India and it culminated in launching of ``Operation Meghdoot'' on April 13, 1984. The battle in the following years spread over 110 km. all the way from Sia Pass to NJ 9842. The war for Siachen, however, is fought on seven others by India and five west of Soltoro range by Pakistan.

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