Abingdonboy
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very well put!
the point here is lack of trust and paranoia that runs on both sides.
my language would look crude but the thing is India has lost huge number of its men to protect the location and the fact remains for commanders to consider is that, assume hypothetically that both nations move back, and on one day India finds Pak troops occupying the location, all the sacrifices made thus far would go waste and probably would become impossible to wrest back control.
This thought alone is the greatest deterrent against troops leaving their current positions.
Mutually acceptable???
why?
I know many here would call me an arm chair warrior for not supporting demilitarisation of kargil, but i have my reasons.
1) Demilitarisation of kargil is not possible atleast from india's side, as it puts us at the disadvantage of loosing Saltoro ridge. Its a huge source of freshwater for us.
2) Musharraf has repeated it on several occasions, that "there will be more KARGILs". What if he's right??? what if the enemy intrudes??? Thats one reason why India is apprehensive about demilitarisation.
3) From India's point of view- what happens if Pakistan decides to double-cross us post demilitarisation and reoccupy
the precious Saltoro Ridge?
Our next line of defence would possibly be the Ladakh Range and Leh will be within enemy artillery range. Maintenance of Ladakh Range will be severely threatened. Our new defence line will need additional troops and mmay be additional divisions too. Large reserves will be required, including for counter infiltration. Enormous expenditure and time will be needed for preparation of new posts, bunkers, gun positions, helipads, administrative buildings, communications infrastructure, maintenance and recurring expenses.
4) The China factor- China is not our best buddy. To say that China has no plans in Ladakh will be the height
of naivete, considering the persistent ground and air Chinese violations in the area.
5) People,or the so called experts, say that both India and Pakistan loose close to Rs 8-10 cores a day for maintaining their respective posts in Kargil.
Think of it this way, India looses close to Rs 12 crores for maintaining a white elephant called Air India. Are the Indian govt or Pakistani govt ready to close down such public sector ventures??? (I am sure Pakistan, like India, has many white elephants like Air India).
@Abingdonboy @anant_s
The former COAS Bikram Singh puts it very well:
40.00-
He is right- you have to tackle the trust deficit first.