OrionHunter
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An avalanche that buried more than 130 Pakistani soldiers in a Himalayan region close to India has put a spotlight on what critics say is one of worlds most pointless military deployments: two developing nations engaged in a costly standoff over an uninhabitable patch of mountain and ice.
Of all the problems plaguing the two countries, Siachen is often described as one of the easiest to solve but it is hostage to general mistrust and hard-liners on both sides who dont want to give up their claim on territory, however strategically insignificant.
This absolutely futile, useless fiasco has been going on since 1984, said Pakistan-India peace activist Tahira Abdullah. It is a one-hour job to agree on a solution, but it is now an ego problem between the two armies. Both armies should pull back from the heights. Soldiers are dying and my heart bleeds for them, but its for nothing.
Temperatures as low as -60 C, vicious winds and altitude sickness the region is just east of the worlds second-highest peak, K-2 have killed far more than the artillery fire. Casualty figures are not released by either military, but hundreds are believed to have died there.
Analysts say resolving Siachen should be possible before the much more difficult dispute over Kashmir is attempted. Because no one lives in the region and it is of no strategic value, a joint or even unilateral withdrawal from one side could break the logjam.
Each country spends many millions of dollars to maintain troops in the remote region.
We should do joint research in the area on how to stop the glacier melting, said Alam. Make it a peace park instead of wasting money.
Make Siachen Peace Park
______________________________________________________
Some contend that Siachen has strategic significance while others are not so sure. The fact is that Siachen is a piece of real estate that does have strategic significance considering that it is nestled between Pakistan, China, and India.
This graphic explains its importance:
Whilst India claims the line going Northward from NJ 980420 as per the Shimla Agreement, Pakistan wants it going Eastward as shown on the map. India is insisting that Pakistan provides iron-clad guarantees to authenticate the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) along the Saltoro Ridge, on maps and on ground considering what happened in Kargil. Pakistan is refusing to do so.
Will this impasse ever end? Vested interests on both sides will most likely prevent a viable solution to this conundrum, which is acceptable to both India and Pakistan, at least not in the near future.
In the meanwhile, soldiers on either side of the divide will continue to die due to the hostile terrain and weather conditions prevailing there.....
Of all the problems plaguing the two countries, Siachen is often described as one of the easiest to solve but it is hostage to general mistrust and hard-liners on both sides who dont want to give up their claim on territory, however strategically insignificant.
This absolutely futile, useless fiasco has been going on since 1984, said Pakistan-India peace activist Tahira Abdullah. It is a one-hour job to agree on a solution, but it is now an ego problem between the two armies. Both armies should pull back from the heights. Soldiers are dying and my heart bleeds for them, but its for nothing.
Temperatures as low as -60 C, vicious winds and altitude sickness the region is just east of the worlds second-highest peak, K-2 have killed far more than the artillery fire. Casualty figures are not released by either military, but hundreds are believed to have died there.
Analysts say resolving Siachen should be possible before the much more difficult dispute over Kashmir is attempted. Because no one lives in the region and it is of no strategic value, a joint or even unilateral withdrawal from one side could break the logjam.
Each country spends many millions of dollars to maintain troops in the remote region.
We should do joint research in the area on how to stop the glacier melting, said Alam. Make it a peace park instead of wasting money.
Make Siachen Peace Park
______________________________________________________
Some contend that Siachen has strategic significance while others are not so sure. The fact is that Siachen is a piece of real estate that does have strategic significance considering that it is nestled between Pakistan, China, and India.
This graphic explains its importance:
Whilst India claims the line going Northward from NJ 980420 as per the Shimla Agreement, Pakistan wants it going Eastward as shown on the map. India is insisting that Pakistan provides iron-clad guarantees to authenticate the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) along the Saltoro Ridge, on maps and on ground considering what happened in Kargil. Pakistan is refusing to do so.
Will this impasse ever end? Vested interests on both sides will most likely prevent a viable solution to this conundrum, which is acceptable to both India and Pakistan, at least not in the near future.
In the meanwhile, soldiers on either side of the divide will continue to die due to the hostile terrain and weather conditions prevailing there.....
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that was Hollywood. Good movie though 
