Basit urges India, Pakistan for speedy resolution of Siachen issue

Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit has called for the speedy resolution of Siachen issue to contain loss of precious human lives due to harsh weather conditions. 

In an interview to an Indian TV channel on Thursday, he said it was very sad and unfortunate that human lives were being lost at Siachen Glacier due to harsh weather conditions.

The high commissioner said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had also raised this issue at the United Nations.

The statement comes against the backdrop of the death of an Indian soldier who survived an avalanche earlier this month in which at least nine others were also killed.

“It is very sad and unfortunate that human lives are being lost on Siachen due to very harsh weather conditions,” Basit said during the interview referring to the death of the soldier who survived for six days under 35 feet of snow.

“Such incidents only reinforce the need to settle this issue peacefully, amicably and urgently,” he added.

“We hope that both the countries take this issue seriously and engage with each other to settle this issue as quickly as possible, ensuring that further human lives are not lost in Siachen,” he said.

The Siachen Glacier in the Karakorum range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world.

Thousands of Indian and Pakistani troops contest an area at altitudes above 20,000 feet where they must deal with altitude sickness, high winds, frostbite and temperatures as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius.

Military experts say the inhospitable climate and avalanche-prone terrain have claimed more lives than gunfire.

The strategic importance of the glacier is widely seen as insignificant. Until 1984, neither side had troops permanently stationed there.

Both countries agree on a need to demilitarise the glacier, but attempts to reach any agreement have been unsuccessful.

Siachen is in the northern part of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.