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2 India takes glacier tussle to new
heights By Sudha Ramachandran
to be authenticated first as an
international safeguard before any troop
disengagement, withdrawal and the final
demilitarization of the glacier.
The
Indian Army has repeatedly expressed its
misgivings over demilitarization, as it fears that
Pakistan will occupy the heights once India
vacates the posts it currently controls.
India wants authentication of the location
of present posts held by
both
sides, as this would enable New Delhi to provide a
grid-by-grid answer to Pakistan's "cartographic
aggression". When India and Pakistan eventually
sit down to demarcate a border based on the 1949
and 1972 agreements, the authentication of the
current ground positions will give India's claims
greater legal standing. It will strengthen its
case in the interpretation of the line "and thence
northward to the glaciers". It will also help
India build an international case if ever Pakistan
reneges on the terms of a withdrawal agreement.
Pakistan is averse to authenticating the
ground positions, as its troops are nowhere near
the glacier. It is in this context that India's
proposed opening of the Siachen Glacier to
international trekkers becomes important.
The opening for adventure tourism will
enable people from India and across the world to
enjoy nature's beauty, Indian chief of army staff
General J J Singh said last week: "Let the world
see it as a part of our country's heritage and
beauty."
India would like the world to see
more than the glacier's beauty. It does seem that
the trekking expeditions are meant to show an
international audience that Indian troops hold the
dominating heights on the Saltoro Ridge, and that
Pakistan is nowhere near the Siachen Glacier. If
Pakistan is unwilling to authenticate India's
control of the glacier, then perhaps an
international audience will.
It appears
that India's decision regarding civilian treks
into the Siachen-Saltoro region was sparked by the
failure of bilateral talks in April on the Siachen
issue. In fact, a couple of civilian treks to the
region have already taken place.
One was
an expedition by a 16-member Indo-French team to
Mamostong Kangri peak, 30km east of the Siachen
Glacier's snout, and another that included four
Indian Army soldiers and six Indian civilians to
Rimo Peak, east of Siachen and overlooking the
Aksai Chin.
Pakistan has reacted sharply
to the opening of the Siachen Glacier to tourists
and trekkers. On Monday, the Pakistani Foreign
Office summoned India's deputy high commissioner
in Islamabad, Manpreet Vora, to lodge its protest.
"The area remains a conflict zone, and the
reported move by India to open this for tourism
could aggravate the situation, with serious
consequences that vitiate the atmosphere for the
ongoing peace process," Pakistani Foreign Office
spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told the media. "It's
like turning the whole [peace] process on its
head."
India's response has been measured.
It has said it will study the contents of
Islamabad's protest. And it has signaled that as
far as it is concerned, the peace process remains
on track. It has ignored Pakistan's warnings and
announced dates for the next meeting of the Joint
Anti-Terrorism Mechanism, stalled since its first
formal meeting was held in Islamabad in March.
Meanwhile, the expedition has been
postponed. While some reports claim that India has
called it off because of Pakistani objections, the
postponement appears to be the result of
procedural problems. India's Defense Ministry is
yet to give its written permission for the
expedition. The army announcement on the
expedition was apparently made on the basis of the
ministry's verbal assent.
Indian officials
say the government plans to tell Pakistan it is
well within its rights to take tourists up to
Siachen. Not only are the peaks that are being
thrown open to trekkers all under Indian control,
but also all of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral
part of India.
The guns have been silent
in the Siachen and along the LoC and the
international border between India and Pakistan
for almost four years now. The war of words has
begun.
Sudha Ramachandran is an
independent journalist/researcher based in
Bangalore.
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