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Pakistan, India to hold talks on Siachen dispute in June

10 May 2012 21:54 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Pakistan and India will renew talks on the long-standing border dispute over Siachen glacier in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on June 11-12, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, APA reports.

Defence Secretaries of the two nuclear-armed rivals will discuss ways to resolve the issue.

The two countries last held a meeting on the issue in the Indian capital of New Delhi in mid-2011 without making any progress.

Siachen, the world’s highest militarized zone, has been an outstanding issue between India and Pakistan as the border is not clearly demarcated in the glaciated region.

Pakistan said that India occupied some of its territory in Siachen in 1980s.

Last month a massive avalanche struck a camp of Pakistani troops in Siachen, burying nearly 140 soldiers and civilians.

Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani visited Siachen three times in the wake of the avalanche and called for a negotiated end to the confrontation and said the glacier should be demilitarized.

"This conflict should be resolved, but how it is resolved, the two countries have to talk about it," he said.

Both countries have failed to remove differences in several rounds of negotiations on Siachen.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan said last week that Pakistan has made several proposals including redeployment of forces.

Indian Defence Minister A K Antony said this week in New Delhi that it would insist on proper authentication by Pakistan of the troop positions in Siachen before any disengagement is undertaken and cautioned against expecting any "dramatic" result from the next round of talks in June.

He told the parliament that India had neither hardened nor softened the position on authentication.

India and Pakistan have deadlocked over differences on the location of the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) which passes through the Soltoro Ridge and Siachen Glacier.

India wants Pakistan to authenticate the AGPL, both on the maps and on the ground, as it occupies most of the dominating posts on the Saltoro Ridge.

Pakistan, in turn, has been insisting on maintaining the pre- 1972 troop positions as agreed in the Simla Agreement.

India launched Operation Meghdoot and deployed its troops in most of the dominating features in Siachen in retaliation for Pakistan Army’s advance in the glacier in 1984.

The defence secretary-level talks between the two countries on Siachen dated back to 1985 after then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Pakistani President General Zia-ul-Haq made the decision.