NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan are working to solve their differences on the Siachen glacier in Kashmir, The proposal involves a withdrawal of both the armies and the creation of a demilitarization zone.

; A Pakistani military team is to visit New Delhi soon to discuss steps that could lead to an eventual Joint pullout from the glacier, Siachen about 475 miles north of here, an external affair official said. No time has been set for a withdrawal.

Siachen a sprawling area at heights above 20,000 feet has been described as the world’s highest battleground. It has become a significant hurdle in efforts to normalize relations between India and Pakistan, who have fought three wars since they became independent in 1947. The area has never been properly demarcated.

Scores of troops have been killed in clashes in Siachen which India seized in 1984. Indian soldiers have resisted attacks by Pakistan to recapture the desolate and mountainous region over which both claim sovereignty, and which borders on China.

Progress toward a settlement on the issue was reported first from a meeting of the defense secretaries of both sides at Islamabad this month. While there was no agreement on the lines of control, an Indian spokesman defined as a “major step forward” a joint decision to show the exact positions of both armies in the region.

This would be followed by further talks and the “determination of the redeployment of forces”. He said that both sides had agreed not to use force in tackling the issue. The issue has been discussed by leaders of the two countries, including Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi of India and Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan.

The official dismissed Indian news reports saying the process would lead to the formal partition of Kashmir state, which has been divided between the two countries for more than 40 years. Siachen is part of Kashmir.

Both Claim National Territory

Both sides describe the state as part of their national territory and have pledged to secure each other’s withdrawal from Kashmir. The dispute stems from the 1948 war, the first between the newly independent nations, when they accepted a ceasefire with Pakistani troops still in Kashmir.

Pakistan attacked Kashmir after its monarch, who has now been announced as the next Indian Ambassador to the U.S. decided to join India,

Their troops have faced each other since along a frontier known as the Line of Actual Control.

Officials say that with a general election only six months away, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi will not approve anything could damage him politically. They say Rajiv Gandhi wants a pullout from Siachen without comprising India’s security.

Gandhi’s foreign policy is already under fierce attack from his political foes, who cite India’s failure to enforce peace in Sri Lanka and an embarrassing demand by that country that Indian troops must leave by next month. India sent its soldiers to Sri Lanka in 1987 under an agreement that sought to end a conflict between the island’s main ethnic groups. India’s relationships with Nepal have soured after a major trade dispute, and relations with Bangladesh are cool.

The proposal of demilitarization of Siachen Glacier is said to be linked with the Indian proposal that it be allowed a “right or hot pursuit” by Pakistan into latter’s territory (WSN June 30).

Pakistani officials say such a proposal would infringe on their countries sovereignty.

Article extracted from this publication >>  July 7, 1989