No change in Siachen status

Pakistan and India have failed to make any forward movement for resolving their conflict over the Siachen glacier, as both sides adhered to their earlier positions in the two-day talks, with Islamabad asking for an unconditional demilitarization of the region and India refusing to do that before the authentication of current troop positions.
The two-day talks on Siachen, which were part of the bilateral dialogue process between India and Pakistan, were held at the Defense Ministry in Rawalpindi.
The respective delegations were led by Defence Secretary Nargis Sethi and her Indian counterpart Shashikant Sharma, wherein they explained their respective positions while sticking to their stance firmly and refused to accommodate one another. “India asked for troop positions’ authentication before any withdrawal, while Pakistan’s position was that both sides must withdraw their troops to the positions that they were holding before 1984 and at the same time with an assurance that none shall occupy the positions vacated by the other,” said a Pakistani diplomat, seeking anonymity. He said India’s reluctance to withdraw troops to the positions that they were holding before 1984, when Indian army occupied main heights in the regions, was because of the fear that Pakistan could occupy them once it had withdrawn from the region.
Talking to reporters after the talks, Nargis Sethi said India was not ready to abdicate its old stance. However, she said some progress had been made in the two-day talks. She said Both sides had agreed to continue with their talks on Siachen. She said Pakistan had asked for demilitarization of the glacier saying the conflict had a deep negative impact on the environment of the region and the talks to resolve the issue must be sped up. The Indian defense secretary said both sides had exchanged recommendations in order to resolve the dispute. He said India and Pakistan had prepared a list of recommendations for a resolution which would be presented to both governments. Pakistani and Indian delegations spent the second day of their talks in preparing a joint statement that was issued to the media at the end of negotiations. According to statement, it was agreed to continue dialogue on Siachen in keeping with the desire of the leaders of both countries for early resolution of all outstanding issues. Both sides acknowledged that the ceasefire was holding since 2003. It was agreed that the next round of talks on Siachen will be held in New Delhi on mutually convenient dates, to be fixed through diplomatic channels. Pakistan has come with the strong call to demilitarize the Siachen glacier in the wake of an avalanche that killed 139 Pakistani soldiers on April 7 in the Gayari sector of the snowy region. However, India, according to Pakistani officials, is not forthcoming in reciprocating to Pakistan’s efforts for peace in the region.