Pak says no to authentication of troop positions in Siachen

She was reacting to Defence Minister A K Antony’s statement on Monday that Pakistan would have to authenticate the Actual Ground Position Line in Siachen before any forward movement could be made to settle the issue.

PM Manmohan Singh had proposed two years ago that the icy heights of Siachen in Jammu and Kashmir be demilitarised and converted into a “mountain of peace”.

However, before undertaking demilitarisation, New Delhi has been insisting on “iron-clad” authentication by Islamabad of the present troop positions of the two countries as it is wary of repetition of Kargil experience when Pakistani troops captured mountain heights vacated by India in winter. Pakistan’s reluctance to authenticate has prevented any forward movement in talks over the issue.

Aslam said Pakistan has forwarded some “workable proposals” to help resolve the Siachen issue. “It is important that Pakistan and India should learn to resolve problems instead of living with them which have the risk of aggravating the situation,” she was quoted by daily Dawn as saying today.