Indian minister says Pakistan must reveal positions on Siachen
NEW DELHI, May 5: India said on Saturday it will not agree on the withdrawal of troops from a glacier in Kashmir until Islamabad reveals its positions there, the Press Trust of India reported.
“We have to keep the history in mind. Both sides will have to agree on the actual ground position,” India’s Defence Minister A.K. Anthony told reporters following his first visit to the Siachen region.
The Indian army, which has occupied most of the high-altitude battlefield since 1987, wants “iron-clad” evidence of existing troop positions to dissuade Pakistan from moving its soldiers forward in the event of a pullout. Pakistan fears that setting out its positions would be tacit acceptance of India’s claims to Siachen and the area as a whole.
“Pakistan will have to demarcate the actual ground position line —- both on the ground as well as on the map —- before any headway is made,” said the minister, who took the post last year.
“Our position from the beginning is very clear that before any forward movement is made, we must authenticate the actual ground position line.”—AFP
