By Major
General Mrinal Suman
Siachen is in the news
again.Having served at the glacier, one is aware of the ground realities. It is
being suggested that ‘demilitarization’ of the glacier will act as a catalyst
to foster friendly relations between Indian and Pakistan. To be honest,
one has not heard of a more convoluted and outlandish logic.
Demilitarization of an
area implies withdrawal of the opposing military forces from the designated
area with an agreement that neither side would undertake any military activity
till the resolution of the conflicting territorial claims. Thus,
demilitarization necessarily entails withdrawal by both the sides from the
disputed area. The area becomes a de facto frontier between the two nations.
In the case of Siachen,
Pakistan has no presence on the glacier – not even a toehold. Their positions
are well west of the Saltoro Ridge. If they are not present on the glacier, the
question of Pakistani withdrawal just does not arise. Therefore,
demilitarization of Siachen means unilateral withdrawal by India and
nothing more.
It is understandable for
the Pakistani military to use the term demilitarization as it wants to continue
deceiving its countrymen that it is occupying part of the glacier. However, it
is simply preposterous for Indian strategists to speak in terms of demilitarization
and thereby mislead the public. They should be honest and refer to the proposal
as ‘unilateral vacation of Siachen by India’.
'Demilitarization of
Siachen will assure Pakistan of Indian sincerity in resolving contentious
issues and help bring about a reduction in Pakistan’s hostility towards India.
Both countries can live peacefully thereafter' is the commonly touted argument
of the Indian advocates of the withdrawal.
The above logic is absurd
and farcical. It is based on three phony contentions. One, it is for India to
convince Pakistan of its good intentions and not the vice versa. Two,
a placated Pakistan will shed its enmity and be a good neighbour. And three,
Pakistan should be trusted to honour its commitment.
Over the last six decades
India has tried various measures to convince Pakistan of its sincerity to
develop a rancor-free relationship. India has never coveted Pakistani
territory. It stopped short of re-conquering the whole of Jammu and Kashmir and
went to the Security Council. It gave back the strategic Haji Pir Pass as a
goodwill gesture in 1965 and returned 96,000 Pakistani Prisoners of War after
the war in 1971. It has never trained and sent terrorists into Pakistan to
create mayhem.
As a matter of fact,
India’s over-indulgence and conciliatory gestures has emboldened Pakistan into
considering India to be a soft state and increased its intransigence and
hardened its anti-India attitude. While the Indian leadership was trying to
break ice through ‘bus diplomacy’ in 1998-99, Pakistani military was busy
planning the notorious Kargil incursion.
As regards the
second issue of changing Pakistan’s mindset, it is nothing but self-delusion.
Pakistan’s shedding of hostility towards India and adoption of a friendly
stance would amount to the negation of the two-nation theory, the raison d'être
for its very existence. A nation born out of hatred needs hatred to feed itself
on for continued sustenance and to justify its existence.
Issues like Kashmir and
Siachen are merely a manifestation of Pakistan’s infinite hostility towards
India. Were India to hand over Kashmir to it on a platter and withdraw from
Siachen, Pakistan will invent newer issues to keep the pot boiling. Pakistan
cannot afford to shed its antagonism towards India as that would amount to
questioning the logic of its very creation.
Coming to the third
premise, can Pakistan be trusted not to undertake clandestine operations to
occupy the Siachen heights vacated by trusting Indians? Who can guarantee that?
Remember, deceit is a part of Pakistan’s state policy.
Independent Pakistan
started its track record with treachery. Despite having signed a ‘stand-still
agreement’ with the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan unleashed Pashtun
marauders on the hapless Kashmir valley with the active participation of Pak
army. Breaching undertakings given to the US, it surreptitiously used American
equipment to launch a surprise attack on Kutch in April 1965.
Even before the ink had
dried on the Kutch agreement, Pakistan was back to its perfidious ways.
Covertly, it infiltrated its forces into Kashmir, expecting a local uprising
against India. Under the Tashkent agreement, Pakistan promised to abjure the
use of force to settle mutual disputes and adherence to the principles of
non-interference. However, Pakistan continued its proxy war through its
notorious secret agencies. Sanctuaries and safe passage were provided to
underground elements of North-Eastern India.
Under the Shimla
Agreement, Bhutto had given a solemn verbal undertaking to accept
LOC as the de facto border. Instead, true to its perfidious nature, Pakistan
redoubled its efforts to create turmoil in India. In addition to regular
terrorist attacks, it never misses an opportunity to embarrass India in every
world forum.
Finally, India has been
repeatedly duped and cheated by Pakistan. What has Pakistan done in the recent
past to earn another chance to be trusted? Has it arrested and deported all
terrorists? They are roaming free in Pakistan spewing venom against India.
Pakistan is colluding with China by bartering away territory in
Gilgit-Baltistan. One is not aware of a single step taken by Pakistan to
assuage Indian feelings and earn its trust.
Pakistan is adept at
achieving through negotiations what it loses in war. The current dialogue on
Siachen is an extension of the same subterfuge. Indian soldiers shed
blood to gain military ascendency, only to see their hard fought gains being
lost through the misplaced zeal of some self-proclaimed advocates of peace.
We should never forget
that deceit, betrayal, duplicity and perfidy are synonym with Pakistan.
Therefore, any Indian who suggests vacation of Siachen should be treated as an
anti-national element and tried for high treason. Enough of Prithviraj
Chauhan syndrome. He repeatedly trusted Ghori and set him free; only
to be captured and blinded later on. Pakistani text books portray Ghori
as an ideal leader whose exploits should be followed. It is time
India learns. (End)
I am not a military man But having served the govt in some of the highest positions both in India and abroad I know enough of military matters to agree in toto with the general.
ReplyDeleteIt is ABSURD for anybody to talk of withdrawal from our commanding position in Siachen where our soldiers have died. Let Pakistan withdraw from the areas in chamb area, which we foolishly allowed them to continue with.
Let Pakistan dismantle all its terrorist camps inside Pakistan and that should be verified by a joint team of Indian military, police and civil officials in Pakistan and they should be satisfied and not only that this mechanism of verification should be every three months to start with. This destruction of terrorist camps is in accordance with res 1373 of the UNSC of which I was the First Advisor as it demands that no state should allow terrorist activities on its soil.
We can then think of siachen matter.
Sivaraman
Madras Sivaraman
madras.sivaraman@gmail.com