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| Pak ringing false bells on Siachen melting | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
Jammu, Sept 25: Islamabad has again raised the issue of military activities on the 19000 ft high Siachen mountain glacier which, it claims, had been one of the factors responsible for the recent devastating floods that hit Pakistan. The establishment in Islamabad has even conveyed to the world bodies its concern over the military presence on the mountain glacier which had been responsible for the recent floods in which 21 million people were affected.
It is for the third time that the establishment in Islamabad has raked up the presence of Army on the 64-km long glacier which had resulted in heavy melting of ice resulting in inundation of rivers that flow within Pakistan, especially the Indus. Well it would be pertinent if Islamabad is asked what led to the deploying of troops on the mountain glacier. If one examines the entire record of the events since 1983 it would not take one a minute to hold Islamabad responsible for the military activities on the mountain glacier.
Till 1982-83 the mountain glacier continued to be a zone of peace. For majority of people in the world Siachen was not familiar to them. However, right from 1982 Pakistan started sending its troops on the mountain glacier where they set up their bases. It was during 1983 that an expedition of a group of Indian troops to the mountain areas around the Siachen glacier unraveled the Pakistani mischief. The real plan of sending troops to man the unmanned heights was to oversee the military activities in the Indian territory of Ladakh.
The members of the expedition, on their return, informed the Ministry of Defence. The very report of the members of the expedition sounded alarm bells within the Government circles. It was immediately decided to send the Indian troops to the Siachen heights, where not a blade of grass grows, to unseat the Pakistani forces. It was in the middle of 1984 that the fiercest armed conflict between the two sides took place in which a large number of soldiers, on both sides, were killed. However, the Indian troops were able to push back the Pakistani forces who had occupied vantage positions on the mountain glacier.
Since 1984 it has been an intermittent battle between the two sides. In the initial years the Indian troops suffered heavy losses because of the weather related problems as they had occupied higher heights than the Pakistani troops. Several thousand soldiers were maimed because of frostbite and others developed severe chest problems forcing them to seek voluntary retirement. And during the last 26 years India has been requesting Pakistan to settle amicably the siachen issue but whenever the mountain glacier issue is raised during any bilateral talks Islamabad insists on first resolving the Kashmir issue.
Islamabad, as such, does not seem to be keen in resolving the Siachen dispute. And had the military activities on the glacier been responsible for the floods that hit Pakistan Islamabad should have responded to the offer for negotiations made by Delhi. It seems Islamabad is raising a false alarm while talking about the evil impact of the military presence on the Siachen glacier. In fact the aim is to secure a third-party mediation on the Siachen issue but not before the issue of Kashmir was resolved.
Indian scientists do not believe in the Pak contention that the recent floods were the result of military presence on the Siachen glacier. They say that Pakistan was hit by torrential rains for weeks together which inundated its rivers thereby causing immense losses to the people. They said it cannot be denied that the rate of melting of ice on the Siachen glacier has gone up since 1984 because of the presence of Indian and Pakistani troops. But the rate of melting has not been so high that it can cause floods of the magnitude that hit Pakistan in the recent days.
Security experts say if Pakistan withdraws its troops from the mountain glacier India would be too glad to reciprocate. The pull out could be carried out after the area was demarcated so that there was no friction and conflict in the future. Once it materialised the world's highest battleground will be a belt of peace again. The choice is with Islamabad. |
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