01-17-2007, 03:43 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>India's pullout from Siachen on cards </b>
Rahul Datta | New Delhi
Pioneer.com
Govt to take a call on Musharraf's wishlist
<b>The UPA Government is likely to make a final decision on troop pullout from Siachen glacier very soon as the top political leadership is favourably inclined to demilitarise the world's highest battlefield. </b>
Eager to step up the peace process between India and Pakistan, the political leadership may skirt the concerns raised by the Army that Pakistan should first agree to authenticate the troop positions on the glacier divided by 110-km long actual ground position line (AGPL). Â
Indian soldiers patrolling the Siachen Glacier near the Forward Logistics Base (FLB)
Keen to convert the glacier into a "mountain of peace," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to take up the issue of troop pullout within the next two or three days with his Cabinet colleagues.
<b>Realising the political implications of the issue, he is also likely to discuss it with Congress high command, including party president Sonia Gandhi.</b>
The Cabinet is also likely to discuss the possibility of the Prime Minister's maiden visit to Pakistan though External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee made it clear in Islamabad on Sunday that such a visit was not in the offing in the near future, sources said here on Tuesday.
Pakistan is reluctant to authenticate the troop positions and its Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri said in Islamabad on Sunday that he did not want to get into a battle of words. He said, "We could find ways and means to meet India's concerns but we have to let the officials meet."
Stating this in a joint conference with Mukherjee, Kasuri said his Government had presented a very detailed plan for the resolution of the Siachen issue and methods to identify troop positions and termed the plan as a complete package. He also said this method could be worked out on the basis of these proposals and officials of the two sides would meet soon for further discussions.
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The Pakistan Foreign Minister, however, refused to divulge the details of the plan and said Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan had given the plan to his counterpart Shiv Shanker Menon during their meeting in New Delhi in November last. Two months ago, Kasuri had claimed that the Siachen issue was about to be resolved during his Foreign Secretary's visit to New Delhi, adding political will was needed to address it.
The Pakistan Foreign Minister reiterated this on Sunday last, too, and said it could be resolved within days given the political will, adding a lot of work had been done on this issue.
Â
The Defence Secretaries and officials of India and Pakistan have met 10 times since the two countries decided to work out a mechanism to address the final objective of demilitarisation in 1987 when former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and his counterpart Benazir Bhutto were at the helm of affairs.
The two armies are operationally deployed there for the past 24 years and the Indian defence establishment does not want to be taken off guard in case Pakistan reoccupies the heights. At present, the Indian army has the strategic advantage of commanding all the major high points of the glacier, thereby providing it access to the mountain passes.
However, <b>Pakistan is in a better position as it has to maintain less arduous logistical support to its army due to favourable gradual descent on its side of the glacier. Pakistan, moreover, has better access to the glacier as the road heads are closer to the less steep heights</b>.
India, on the other hand, has to maintain all its logistical support through air due to extremely rugged and harsh terrain where temperatures hover between minus 30 to minus 50.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Another Moron SIngh blunder in card. Not sure how long he will keep on destroying India.
Rahul Datta | New Delhi
Pioneer.com
Govt to take a call on Musharraf's wishlist
<b>The UPA Government is likely to make a final decision on troop pullout from Siachen glacier very soon as the top political leadership is favourably inclined to demilitarise the world's highest battlefield. </b>
Eager to step up the peace process between India and Pakistan, the political leadership may skirt the concerns raised by the Army that Pakistan should first agree to authenticate the troop positions on the glacier divided by 110-km long actual ground position line (AGPL). Â
Indian soldiers patrolling the Siachen Glacier near the Forward Logistics Base (FLB)
Keen to convert the glacier into a "mountain of peace," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to take up the issue of troop pullout within the next two or three days with his Cabinet colleagues.
<b>Realising the political implications of the issue, he is also likely to discuss it with Congress high command, including party president Sonia Gandhi.</b>
The Cabinet is also likely to discuss the possibility of the Prime Minister's maiden visit to Pakistan though External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee made it clear in Islamabad on Sunday that such a visit was not in the offing in the near future, sources said here on Tuesday.
Pakistan is reluctant to authenticate the troop positions and its Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri said in Islamabad on Sunday that he did not want to get into a battle of words. He said, "We could find ways and means to meet India's concerns but we have to let the officials meet."
Stating this in a joint conference with Mukherjee, Kasuri said his Government had presented a very detailed plan for the resolution of the Siachen issue and methods to identify troop positions and termed the plan as a complete package. He also said this method could be worked out on the basis of these proposals and officials of the two sides would meet soon for further discussions.
Â
The Pakistan Foreign Minister, however, refused to divulge the details of the plan and said Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan had given the plan to his counterpart Shiv Shanker Menon during their meeting in New Delhi in November last. Two months ago, Kasuri had claimed that the Siachen issue was about to be resolved during his Foreign Secretary's visit to New Delhi, adding political will was needed to address it.
The Pakistan Foreign Minister reiterated this on Sunday last, too, and said it could be resolved within days given the political will, adding a lot of work had been done on this issue.
Â
The Defence Secretaries and officials of India and Pakistan have met 10 times since the two countries decided to work out a mechanism to address the final objective of demilitarisation in 1987 when former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and his counterpart Benazir Bhutto were at the helm of affairs.
The two armies are operationally deployed there for the past 24 years and the Indian defence establishment does not want to be taken off guard in case Pakistan reoccupies the heights. At present, the Indian army has the strategic advantage of commanding all the major high points of the glacier, thereby providing it access to the mountain passes.
However, <b>Pakistan is in a better position as it has to maintain less arduous logistical support to its army due to favourable gradual descent on its side of the glacier. Pakistan, moreover, has better access to the glacier as the road heads are closer to the less steep heights</b>.
India, on the other hand, has to maintain all its logistical support through air due to extremely rugged and harsh terrain where temperatures hover between minus 30 to minus 50.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Another Moron SIngh blunder in card. Not sure how long he will keep on destroying India.