With India and Pakistan sticking to their previously stated positions, there was no breakthrough at the end of the tenth round of Defence Secretary-level talks on the demilitarisation of Siachen.Ahead of the meeting today, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee made it clear: "Before the process of withdrawal and deployment at designated places, existing positions must be delineated and authenticated in a document signed and agreed upon by both sides."The Indian side, led by Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt, conveyed in no uncertain terms that Pakistan needed to at least clarify it was willing to move towards such a document.The Pakistani team, led by Defence Secretary Lt Gen (retd) Tariq Wasim Ghazi, recommended that both sides first talk disengagement and redeployment before getting into the authentication process. The team did not, in the event, have the mandate to discuss authentication.Hours after the talk ended, Lt Gen Ghazi said, "The mandate given to us is one of withdrawal and redeployment, so we have focused on that. This is the main thrust. The talks did not fail, there was some forward movement. But does authentication mean the line will not be violated? Which international border has not been violated? The issues are not linked."Lack of any substantial movement today was reflected in joint statement, stating, "The two sides held frank and constructive discussions in a cordial atmosphere. The Defence Secretaries agreed to continue the discussions to resolve the Siachen issue in a peaceful manner."While this round, by most accounts, had the most candid, positive and open discussions ever held at the technical level on the issue, a sense persisted today that Pakistan’s in-principle nod through the back channel to authenticate Indian troop positions on the Saltoro ridge did not reflect in the technical-level talks."They are not agreeing to this plan for quite some time. This is the area of difference which still continues. Perhaps there can be forward movement in another round of discussions. In this round, we could not make any breakthrough," Mukherjee said."For us, authentication is an unnecessary issue, even though it’s the main issue for India. We don’t feel convinced of the need for it. I have not been able to understand the purpose for why authentication is being insisted upon, nor its relevance," the Pakistani defence secretary said.Like the last round, it was apparent that the Pakistani delegation did not have enough political latitude to make any concrete commitments on authentication—owing in part to Islamabad’s original view that India acted aggressively by deploying its troops on the Saltoro ridge in 1984—though the Indians suggested that both sides could work towards veering around these considerations.Ghazi added, "If there is trust, other guarantees and assurances, there is no need for such processes. We will now narrow our differences and strengthen what we agree on."
