Glacial peace

Pakistan has reiterated its readiness to withdraw its troops from the Siachen Glacier. India should rapidly capitalise on this offer and agr...

Pakistan has reiterated its readiness to withdraw its troops from the Siachen Glacier. India should rapidly capitalise on this offer and agree to the demilitarisation of Siachen. India has been procrastinating on implementing an agreement between the countries on this matter. It has been reluctant to implement a withdrawal that does not recognise and authenticate the Actual Ground Position Line. But India8217;s reservations on this score are overstated. If we are serious about resolving issues between India and Pakistan, then there is no better issue than Siachen. No populations are involved. Neither side has anything to gain in this arid glaciated terrain. The cost in human lives and resources to both sides is out of proportion with the importance of the territory. There is no tactical or strategic purpose being served that could not be achieved by other means. And if there are any violations of the agreement, India reserves the right to defend itself. On Siachen, the ball in firmly in India8217;s court.

There is also a political reason for taking Pakistan8217;s offer seriously. General Musharraf, with his usual political shrewdness, is putting greater pressure on the peace process. Confidence Building Measures alone cannot sustain the process for too long. There has to be some progress on a concrete issue that divides the two countries. It is unlikely that in the near future either India or Pakistan will radically change their stated positions on Kashmir. It is, therefore, even more important to demonstrate that we can make progress on at least some of the minor contentious issues. If the hardened lines on Siachen cannot melt, it is unlikely that the peace process will achieve enduring results elsewhere. India also has to recognise that it will, at some point, have to offer Pakistan something tangible. The difficulty with the peace process is this: what would India be willing to concede that would not compromise its core interests and position, yet at the same time be significant enough to convince the Pakistanis that they have got something out of the talks? This question is extraordinarily difficult to answer, because both sides have little room for manoeuvre at the moment. But a successfully implemented agreement on Siachen will at least be the first step in assuring both sides that they are at least capable of keeping any promises they make.

Withdrawal from Siachen will not resolve the issues between the two sides. But a failure to make progress on the issue will almost certainly ensure that there is no further progress. To ensure that there is no possible political fallout from this withdrawal, all political parties can evolve a consensus. But the glacier of blood can now be converted into the glacier of peace.