By Karan Kharb
Peace and good neighbourly relations between India
and Pakistan or between India and China are very much needed and would be any
day a welcome scenario. Sadly, these relations have been far from peaceful or
good neighbourly with a history of more blood flow than trade and trust across
borders. India’s initiatives for Peace and
friendship with Pakistan have almost always been betrayed even while Agreements
were being drafted or formally signed. Prime Ministers Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif were celebrating peace at
Lahore when the Pak Army was busy infiltrating to capture Kargil and cut off
Siachen. Peace parleys for confidence building measures were going on between
the two countries when Mumbai 26/11 was sprung under the aegis of Pakistan
Army/ISI. Yet, peoples on both sides of the border need and deserve peace and
there is ample scope for cooperation to benefit from each other in numerous
fields.
But peace cannot be begged. To be lasting, it has to be negotiated from a position of strength, honour, dignity
and abiding mutual trust. Therefore, the quality and duration of peace should
logically be dependent on the discretion of the more powerful of the two.
Having suffered several defeats and dismemberment at India’s hands, Pakistan should seek peace more eagerly
than India. Ironically and illogically, however, it is India that has been
always at the receiving end while Pakistan has been getting away with her
audacious mischiefs, outright anti-India tirade
and perpetrating attacks deep inside India through proxy squads of terrorists
trained, equipped and financed under a well organised military system. At last count, over 42 training academies more mildly called camps are currently running in Pakistan and POK even
when, in a grotesque development, some of India’s very own revered strategists
including a former Air Force Chief have been easily convinced by their
Pakistani counterparts to coax the Indian Army to depart from Siachen as a step towards peace. Called “Track II
Forum” they are a group of retired military brass from Pakistan and India
seeking demilitarisation of Siachen Glacier, world’s highest battlefield,
dominantly held by Indian troops since 1984. Ever since, the Pakistan Army has tried to dislodge the Indian
troops and capture Siachen but in vain.
Or is it the other way round? Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh was once quoted in India Today (May 14, 2012) thus:
"Siachen is called the highest battlefield, where living is very
difficult. Now the time has come that we make efforts that this is converted
from a point of conflict to the symbol of peace." The report went on, sources in the Government say the Prime Minister has
endorsed the Siachen talks on demilitarisation. For him, they say, the world's highest battlefield - and a snow-capped
symbol of Indian Army's enduring sacrifice-comes without the baggage of Jammu
and Kashmir and forward movement (read demilitarisation) would mean creating
the right atmosphere for talks derailed by the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Demilitarisation is his CBM (confidence building measure) offer to Pakistan.
The Indian Military viewpoint has always
been unambiguous and steadfastly against any demilitarisation of Siachen. The
Government, in all fairness, must respect and
accept this professional opinion from country’s Military Authorities responsible to defend these borders rather than
yielding to pressure or blackmail from invisible quarters.
What is perplexing is that the proposal to demilitarise
Siachen is said to have germinated in secretive parleys among some very senior
military veterans Indians and Pakistanis organised as “Track II
Forum” under the aegis of Atlantic Council of Ottawa and Atlantic Council of US
latter headed by Shuja Nawaz a close
confidant of Gen Kiyani, at exotic locales in the world. The Forum flaunting
themselves as angels of Peace, promise to replace animosities and age-old trust
deficit between India and Pakistan with peace, friendship and cooperation. Demilitarisation
a euphemism for withdrawal or
abandonment of Siachen by India, is the
first step they have proposed while remaining quiet on far more serious issues
affecting daily life of millions of people on both sides of the border.
Siachen at an altitude of 22000 ft has nothing to
sustain life. All it has is scarce oxygen, chilly winds, icy gorges,
debilitating fog, sleet, snow and temperature sinking to minus 50 degree
Celsius. No birds fly there, no plants grow, no flowing streams only frozen
glaciers, no life whatsoever! Yet, the gallant Indian soldiers stand here to
keep vigil throughout the glacial expanse in sheer defiance to nature and
enemy. Even in these adversities, Indian troops holding these dominating
heights enjoy a tactical advantage which renders it impossible for the Pakistan
Army to wrest control of any terrain
features in this area by fighting. But Indian occupation of these features
denies Pakistan Army the freedom to encroach into Indian territory and stake
claims subsequently as is evident by Pakistan’s persistence on delineating the LC from NJ 9842 to
Karakoram Pass. “Track II Forum” demilitarisation proposal, therefore, is
Pakistan Army’s silent attack by other nobler looking means to capture
strategically important objective in the region. If this were not so, why are they ignoring to address a host of other
higher priority issues hampering normalisation process? Siachen being a
desolate uninhabitable tract has no bearing on trade, industry, transport or
any other human activity to affect life in Pakistan. Why, then is it given such
a prominence for normalising relations between the two nations? Since early 2004, even the opposing forces of the
two countries have remained largely quiet in this region. Why should a quiet, tranquil Siachen be a cause of anxiety to Pakistan
at this stage? Far from being an innocuous peace drive, the move is loaded with
Pakistan’s strategic move to unhinge and
upturn Indian defences in the region without military manoeuvre.
The vital strategic significance of Siachen is
further heightened when viewed in relation to the LC that should justifiably
run north from NJ 9842 to the vicinity of the Wakhan Corridor, the western
extremity of the original State of J&K ceded to India by the Maharaja genuinely
and legally, as also the proximity of Shaksgam Valley illegally ceded by
Pakistan to China.
Also, it is
the strategic value of these dominating heights that stand between a Pak-China
link-up. There are rumours
that part of upper Gilgit-Baltistan has been leased by Pakistan to China for a
period of 50 years. Presence of Chinese troops and labour in the
Baltik region lend
substance to these inputs. Imagine
a geography that would conjoin Xingjiang, Shaksgam, POK (Baltistan), Aksai Chin
and Tibet while Siachen is left bereft of Indian troops. If and when that
happens, it would be tantamount to ceding areas north of Khardung La range to
Pakistan putting life in the Nubra and Shyok Valleys at their mercy and opening
floodgates for unhindered infiltration into Ladakh. Indian positions in Ladakh,
Leh and Kargil would also be under serious jeopardy. Siachen in its present
state stands formidably to deny Pakistan and China such strategic advantages
besides asserting India’s sovereign
authority over her territory in the region
where border, LC or AGPL is yet to be authenticated.
If they were
indeed promoting peace and friendship between India and Pakistan, there were
other urgencies and priorities that should have caught the attention of “Track II
Forum”. Siachen is not harming Pakistan in any way yet, whereas the terrorist
training camps in Pakistan have been bleeding India. The Forum is strangely
quiet on this issue. Why are they also not asking Pakistan to expatriate the terrorists and criminals wanted for their
crimes in India and now roaming about freely and honourably in Pakistan? Why
are they not seeking an undertaking from the Pakistani authorities to stop
anti-India tirade at international forums?
If demilitarisation
of Siachen were logical and prudent in the “Track II Forum” reckoning, there would be no logic or
prudence for India to hold geographical features anywhere along the Line of
Control by the same reckoning. With in-house calls for withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act from Jammu
& Kashmir already gaining eloquence, it is not impossible to foresee that
vacating Siachen would ultimately trigger a demand for the Indian Army to demilitarise. By that corollary China would perhaps be the first to seek demilitarisation of Arunachal Pradesh. It seems “Track II Forum” has big future and can plan their
exotic jaunts in style!
Some Indian delegates in the “Track II
Forum” are ducking questions and, bereft
of argument, some of them brazenly conclude saying, Siachen demilitarisation is my personal opinion? You
may agree or disagree with it but in my retired capacity, I am free to express
whatever I feel! That is sad and grossly wrongly held notion. Agreed
that retirement frees you from the rules and
norms that restricted your free and
frank expression, but the position you held before demitting office has given
you an identity and status that conveys credibility and influences public
opinion. Personal opinions of personalities who
become publicly recognisable should not be loosely tossed around under the plea
of one’s fundamental rights. Even on
retirement, military leaders cannot relinquish in life their commitment to the safety,
honour and welfare of their country and violation of this Chetwodian virtue should be viewed most seriously. The Track
II proposal to demilitarise which actually
means abandoning Siachen is not only wrong but a treacherous proposal that
smacks of some conspiracy hatched to inflict significant damage through apparently innocuous means and cunning
machinations.
Ideally,
entire Indo-Pak border and Line of Control/Actual Ground Position Line should
be demilitarised. Maybe one day it will happen too. Perhaps by now both the countries would have achieved such good neighbourliness only if
Pakistan had not betrayed India’s trust
every time we moved closer to peace and friendship. Given the history of
frequent betrayals, infiltration, cross border terrorism and Kargil, India
would vacate Siachen at her own
peril. Pakistan cannot afford to evict the Indian Army from its dominating
positions at the Earth’s highest
battlefield militarily. Track II strategy therefore is a conspiracy hatched by
Pakistan co-opting Indian veterans and journalists
under the aegis of so-called Atlantic Council of Ottawa to make their sinister
scheme appear transparent, non-partisan and credible to evict Indian troops
from Siachen which Pakistan needs desperately but cannot snatch it from India
by force. An Army that is used to planning and executing coups to topple
governments seems to have also perfected yet another art of launching quiet
warfare in the garb of cool diplomacy to evict the Indian Army from its
defences! It is therefore highly expedient for the India Army to consider and
include such unconventional machinations and diplomatic manoeuvrings as factors, while planning war-games to be able
to see beyond what looks apparent in our enemy's posturing.
The writer is a retired soldier,
author of two international best sellers and a social servant. He may be
reached on e-mailkarankharb@gmail.com (mob:
09818047092).
Courtesy : http://turningpointindia.blogspot.in/
Dear Karan,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for an enlightened article
on the subject.After reading the article I fully
endorse your views that we should not give up Siachen. With our level of financial morality
in the country,today,it should not be termed a
scam -the views of the people representing us-
in the so called meetings.
God save us. I am retired from services.
Regards,
Brij Mohan Karir