Siachin Confict

[Ray]

Actually, India did not wrest the Siachen.

It was unoccupied.

Pakistan Govt was granting passes for Mountaineering Expeditions in this area and thus defacto attempting to establish that this area was under Pakistan, which was a incorrect premise of Pakistan.

The then Army Commander, Northern Command, after getting Govt permission, ordered occupation of the Siachen Glacier with 5 KUAMAON.



There is an opinion that is bandied that The Siachen Glacier has no significant strategic value.

The map would indicate that there is. More so, these days where Pakistan has ceded the Shaksgam Valley.

Shaksgam Valley is bounded by the Kun Lun Mountains to the north, and by the Karakoram peaks to the south, including Broad Peak, K2 and Gasherbrum. On the southeast it is adjacent to the highest battlefield in the world in the Siachen Glacier region.

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shaksgam.png

It is worth considering as to why China wanted Shaksgam Valley and why Pakistan ceded it from all points of view, including strategic.

If India had not held Siachen, it would have been a free run for both Pakistan or China or both in collusion to roll down to Leh.

Presently India holds all of the glacier and commands the top of all three passes. Pakistan formerly controled Gyong La at 35-10-29N 77-04-15E that overlooks the Gyong (tributary of the Shyok) and Nubra River Vallies and India's access to Leh District.

The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh's idea of making Siachen a 'zone of peace' and withdraw troops is misplaced, unless it follows the principle, 'peace at all costs'.

That this idea of Siachen being a 'zone of peace' is flawed and dangerous is because once the Indian troops are withdrawn to Leh, the three stage acclimatisation will be essential if the Siachen has to be reoccupied in case Pakistan rushes in to occupy. And Pakistan is known to renegade with impunity all treaties and understandings (the latest being Osama not being in Pakistan). It maybe known access from the Pakistani side is relatively easier.

There is also no guarantee that Siachen is not ceded by Pakistan to China to make a continuous landmass from Chinese Occupied Aksai Chin to the Shaksgam Valley and then virtually opening up Leh and beyond.

[Ray]

Is the Pakistan Army brave enough to make peace?

Sometime in the early morning hours of April 7th, a massive avalanche completely wiped out the Pakistan Army’s battalion headquarters (BHQ) at Ghyari......

However despite all this, the route to India’s positions in the middle of the Saltoro range is much more tortured than its Pakistani counterpart and it costs far more in terms of lives and money – that is until April 7th 2012. With Ghyari gone, the Pakistani logistical advantage in the middle of the Saltoro range is gone.

The most critical supply commodity is of course, kerosene. Without kerosene the soldiers will not have water to drink, heat to cook food and keep themselves warm. In normal circumstances, without water, food and warmth, morale collapses and the mental strength of the soldiers fails. As if that is not enough at such low temperatures, metal tends to contract, and lubricants tend to become ineffective. Even high quality weapons unless heated on a kerosene stove become cold-locked – their metal parts shrunk into dimensions beyond the tolerances laid out by the manufacturers. If you have an artillery piece on the glaciers, you have to heat it with a kerosene stove and fire it a few times regularly just to make sure it stays operational.....

If the Indian Army was feeling particularly bloody minded, it would simply start shelling the Pakistani positions at this time. The smarter Pakistanis on the ridge line would surrender or abandon their posts. The stupider ones would attempt to return fire on India’s positions and exhaust what little fuel there remains at their disposal – and then die of thirst, hunger and frost bite. As the actual ground position line (AGPL) has never been officially demarcated, the IAF would be within its rights to launch air raids across it. These acts by the Indian Army would force the Pakistani Army into a very public surrender. After the Abbotabad raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, the Pakistani Army’s position in Pakistani society is quite precarious. Another public failure like this and the Pakistan Army would be torn to shreds by its Jihadis and ultra-nationalistic chums.....

Then there is the harder path, the braver path – chosen by Sri Manmohan Singh himself. Despite all the insults that the Pakistan Army has heaped on him – despite the fact that COAS Ashfaq Pervez Kayani ignored Sri.Singh’s request to send the head of the ISI to New Delhi after the 26/11 attacks – Sri. Singh has found a Buddha like grace in his heart and offered the Pakistani Army an olive branch. A lesser man than him would have simply asked the boys on the glacier to start the music and had the Bofors belch fire on Pakistani positions – but Sri. Singh has offered to help Pakistan cope with the Ghyari situation. India has the HAA reserves and the Cheetah helicopters that Pakistan vitally needs to keep its army men on the ridge from dying. This is an act of immense compassion that can only come from someone steeped in the deepest traditions of Dharma. Only one sufficiently brave to see an adversary as a human being is capable of such an act of kindness. This offer underscores India’s commitment to peace in the region and beyond.

Will the Pakistani Army be brave enough to accept his offer?

http://broadmind.nationalinterest.in...to-make-peace/

[Ray]

Not about Siachen

Before the euphoria for demilitarization of Siachen grips the country with visions of a peace prize and another ‘landmark’ agreement before the next general elections in 2014 eggs us to draw another foolish line on the map, there is need for serious strategic introspection – ‘paid’ media hollering to ignore military advice notwithstanding. Major fallouts of hurried demilitarization of Siachen are as under:

• Widening the China-Pakistan handshake (collusive threat) to include Gilgit-Baltistan (reportedly being leased out by Pakistan to China for 50 years), Shaksgam Valley (already ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963), Saltoro-Siachen region (that Pakistan may reoccupy through “Kashmiri Freedom Fighters” or cede to China), own Sub Sector North (SSN) east of Siachen with Chinese sitting on the northern slopes of the Karakoram Pass if not on top of it already, and Aksai Chin already under Chinese occupation.

• SSN and Eastern Ladakh will become focused objectives of Chinese strategic acupuncture. Defence potential of SSN will be totally degraded with western flank exposed and KK Pass to north, which India stopped patrolling years back for fear of annoying the dragon. We continue to remain thin in Eastern Ladakh against Chinese threat via Aksai Chin – heightened more now with possibility of two front war.

• Our next line of defence will perforce base on Ladakh Range with possibility of Leh coming within enemy artillery range.

• Ladakh and Zanskar Ranges will be targeted for terrorism by ISI nurtured groups while Pakistan will say they are ‘out of control’. ISI has been nurturing Shia terrorist outfits with an eye on Ladakh since late 1990s.

http://www.claws.in/index.php?action...=1119&u_id=183

[Ray]

The roots of the conflict over Siachen lie in the non-demarcations on the western side of the map beyond a grid point known as NJ 9842. Hostilities between India and Pakistan over ownership of the Glacier date back to the first Indo-Pak war of 1948, over the territorial dispute of Jammu & Kashmir. A Cease-Fire Line (CFL) was established as a result of the 1949 Indo-Pak agreement that concluded the war in Jammu & Kashmir. The CFL ran along the international Indo-Pak border and then north and northeast until map grid-point NJ 9842, located near the Shyok River at the base of the Saltoro mountain range. Because no Indian or Pakistani troops were present in the geographically inhospitable northeastern areas beyond NJ 9842, the CFL was not delineated as far as the Chinese border. Both sides agreed, in vague language, that the CFL extends to the terminal point, NJ 9842, and "thence north to the Glaciers".

India's 'North' lies along the ridgeline North (yellow line) and Pakistan's 'North' goes North East (red line)!

[Ray]

The version from Pakistan

The fight for Siachen
By Javed Hussain (a retired Brigadier of the SSG)
Published in The Express Tribune(a Pakistani newspaper): April 22, 2012

On April 13, 1984 a small force of the Indian Army occupied the Bilafond La pass. Four days later, another small force occupied the Sia La pass. Both passes, the former at over 18,000 ft and the latter at over 20,000 ft are located in the Saltoro Range and serve as the gateway to the Siachen Glacier. The Indians had moved fast after receiving intelligence that the Pakistan Army was planning to occupy them. The first Pakistani reaction to the occupation of the passes came on April 24/25, 1984 when a small force attempted to get to the Bilafond La in an uphill assault but was thwarted by the difficult glaciated terrain and adverse weather conditions.......

In early April 1987, another attempt was made by the Pakistan Army to gain a foothold on the Saltoro ridgeline. A small force consisting of about a dozen SSG commandos, using ropes and ladders, went up a vertical cliff and occupied a position at over 21,000 ft that dominated the Indian positions at Bilafond La. They named it Quaid post. The Indian Army made several attempts to evict the commandos but each time they were repulsed with heavy casualties. On June 25, 1987, they succeeded in taking the post as the commandos had run out of ammunition and could not be resupplied as the base supporting them came under fire. With the only foothold on the ridgeline lost, the Pakistan Army launched a major attack in September 1987 to get to Bilafond La. The attack was repulsed. In March 1989, another attempt was made, this time in the Chumik glacier, three kilometres east of Giari (recently hit by an avalanche). At over 19,000 ft, the place chosen is the most difficult to scale in the Saltoro Range for either side. In a daring operation the peak was occupied by two men, an officer and a non-commissioned officer, slung from a helicopter on a rope, turn by turn. The two thwarted all Indian efforts to get to the top for 36 hours after which they were reinforced by a handful of soldiers dropped in similar fashion. But in May 1989 when the Indians succeeded in neutralising the supply base supporting the soldiers on the peak, the post was vacated.

In November 1992, yet another attempt was made to get to the ridgeline by means of a major attack. Launched in haste, the attack ended in failure. As a consequence, the general officer commanding was sacked. Most of the casualties suffered by Pakistani troops in combat were in the two major attacks (September 1987, November 1992).

The Indians have rarely embarked on a major offensive venture. They have left this to the Pakistanis who have obliged them at least twice . The loss of Quaid post and withdrawal from the Chumik glacier post ....

The dispute revolves round the extension of the Line of Control (LOC) beyond a point on the Saltoro Range known by its map reference as NJ 9820420. The demarcated LOC ends at this point —“thence north to the glaciers” is what the Karachi agreement of 1949 states about the extension. According to the Indians, this meant that the LoC should extend northwards along the Saltoro Range up to Sia Kangri.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s stand is that beyond NJ 9820420, the LOC should extend eastward up to the Karakoram pass. Extending the LOC northwards would give the entire Siachen Glacier-Saltoro area to India, while extending it eastward would give it to Pakistan.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/368394/t...t-for-siachen/

Worthy of note is that the Pakistan Brigadier states that Northward (as was in the Agreement on the Cease Fire Line) would mean Siachen and Soltoro is India's.

Going East instead of North would mean it is Pakistan's!

[davidbfpo]

Taken from an email from Hamid Hussain, who contributes to SWC / SWJ indirectly:

I died in pure white snow
Icy hands
Icy toes
Frozen tear decorated my cheeks,
Like crystal clear beads
Always cold
Always alone

Pure White Death by Raven (1)

On April 06, 2012, a serac (large block of ice) wiped out the battalion headquarters of 6th Northern Light Infantry (NLI) at Gayari in Siachin. Instantly, bustling battalion headquarters became the grave of 138 soldiers and civilians attached to 6th NLI; all buried under several feet of snow. Commanding Officer (CO) Lieutenant Colonel Tanvir ul Hassan, Major Zaka-ul-Haq (possibly second-in-command) and Regimental Medical Officer (RMO) Captain Haleemullah Jan were among the casualties. The grave of pure white snow abolished all worldly distinctions of religion, ethnicity, economic and social differences. Officers, Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and soldiers went to eternal sleep along with clerks, barbers, washer men and sweepers. Some were born in the mountains of Gilgit, Hunza, Skardu, Gizar and Astore while others in towns and villages scattered all over the country; Peshawar, Chakwal, Bahawalpur, Nawabshah and Larkana. (2) The collective grave of pure white snow became the final resting place of all these sons of the soil from all over the country. Gayari has now become a hallowed ground for NLI and Pakistan.

Among the soldiers buried under the snow, some had come out without a scratch from the killing fields of Waziristan to find their final resting place in the snowy mountains of Siachin. We will never know what the last thoughts of these brave men were. May be someone was holding in his hand the letter from his mother or wife or clutching to the picture of his smiling son or daughter. May be a silent prayer or flashback of memories of their loved ones before the spark of life left the mortal bodies.

In 1984, India sent its soldiers to the God forsaken mass of ice and snow of Siachin making it the highest altitude battlefield. Battlefield is probably a misnomer. In the last three decades, both sides have fired very little weapons at each other, but lost countless men to harsh weather and terrain that tests limits of human endurance. In the last three decades, both India and Pakistan have spent billions of rupees to maintain their respective small garrisons. Terrain rather than adversary’s bullets have taken a heavy toll with thousands dead and disabled from frost bites and snow blindness. Pakistan has deployed three battalions and India seven battalions on Siachin. According to one report, India spends Rs. 30 billion and Pakistan Rs. 5.4 billion every year to maintain their respective garrisons. Pakistan looses about one hundred while India one hundred and eighty soldiers every year to the forbidding terrain. (3) What is the real meaning of this exercise? A small piece of heart is ripped off from an Indian or Pakistani mother every day. Their sobs are drowned in the noise of patriotism and their tears are covered by the national flags but that does not diminish the pain.

Siachin has become a haunted place for both countries and souls of brave soldiers whose bodies were never recovered now roam that land. We hope that the collective sacrifice of these 138 soldiers and countless others ignite the spark of humanity on both sides. May the courageous among the both nations see the absurdity of this exercise and work towards demilitarization of Siachin. The death toll of eight thousand Indian and Pakistani soldiers so far claimed by the forbidding terrain is way too much. Hopefully, many more lives of young and brave soldiers of both countries can be saved. This will be the true tribute to the sacrifice of the soldiers of their respective countries. We hope that sooner rather than later, Siachin is demilitarized and a monument commemorating the sacrifices of soldiers of India and Pakistan is erected.

“The young dead soldiers do not speak.
Nevertheless, they are heard in the still houses:
who has not heard them?
They have a silence that speaks for them at night
and when the clock counts.
They say: We were young. We have died.
Remember us.
They say: We have done what we could
but until it is finished it is not done.
They say: We have given our lives but until it is finished
no one can know what our lives gave.
They say: Our deaths are not ours: they are yours;
they will mean what you make them.
They say: Whether our lives and our deaths were for
peace and a new hope or for nothing we cannot say,
it is you who must say this.
We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning.
We were young, they say. We have died; remember us.”

‘ The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak’ by Archibald MacLeish

Notes:

1- Pure White, Snow Poem http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poe...#ixzz1rY9lsG7M
www.FamilyFriendPoems.com

2- http://www.ispr.gov.pk/front/main.as...17#wv_link2017

3- http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-New...led-in-Siachen

[Ray]

In 1984, India sent its soldiers to the God forsaken mass of ice and snow of Siachin making it the highest altitude battlefield.

Good reasons to send soldiers to 'the God forsaken mass of ice and snow.

BTW, there is a Waiting List amongst officers and men of the Indian Army who want a tenure in these 'God forsaken mass of ice and snow'.

If India demilitarises this area and then Pakistan surreptitiously occupies the same (as they did in Kargil inspite of a delineated Line of Control signed by both the countries), then there is no hope in hell for the Indian Army to regain the same.

If Pakistan occupies it then there would be a continuous stretch of landmass from the Shaksgam (which Pakistan ceded to China) -Siachen- Aksai Chin. As it is China has troops and influence in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

Freedom is expensive, but every pain and sorrow is worth the joy to be a free people of a democracy that has never seen any interruption by non political players.