The Centre is again considering demilitarisation of the glacier as it tries to boost ties with Pakistan
NEW DELHI: The demilitarisation of Siachen glacier is yet again actively being considered by the government as it tries to rejuvenate the Indo-Pak bilateral ties based on the recent Havana agreement.
Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee is visiting Siachen for a day on Tuesday to get a first hand idea of the field level perception of a possible military withdrawal from the world’s highest battlefield. The minister’s visit is the latest in a series of consultations with military on the Siachen withdrawal. In fact, Mukherjee’s junior, minister of state Rao Inderjit Singh had visited Siachen for three days last week.
The ceasefire at the glacier since November 25, 2003 is still holding and has brought down the challenges to soldiers deployed on the inhospitable terrain. But enemy fire has not been the biggest threat to soldiers at the glacier, where more lives have been lost to the freezing weather than anything else.
Sources say the demilitarisation of Siachen is now “back on the agenda” and is being actively considered by the government as it pools together efforts to activate the Havana agreement between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.
The core of the agreement is to set up a joint mechanism to investigate terrorism cases, but senior officials indicate that the mechanism would be a starting point for broader bilateral process.
Officials are not very enthusiastic about the joint mechanism producing any sterling achievements. However, with the mechanism as an excuse, they are hopeful of moving forward to address issues like demilitarisation of the glacier, ending disputes over Baglihar, Sir Creek etc.
The new foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon had indicated at Havana that both the sides would pursue the Siachen issue in the coming days.
Mukherjee’s visit is part of the renewed effort within the government to address the issue.
This is the second visit of Mukherjee to the glacier as defence minister, the first was in August 2004.
Frozen desert
Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee is visiting Siachen for a day on Tuesday
He will get a first hand idea of the field-level perception of a possible military withdrawal from the glacier
The minister’s visit is the latest in a series of consultations with military on the Siachen withdrawal
Mukherjee’s junior, minister of state Rao Inderjit Singh, had visited Siachen for three days last week
