"We have to keep the history in mind. Both sides will have to agree on the actual ground position," India's Defence Minister A.K. Anthony told reporters following his first visit to the Siachen region.

The Indian army, which has occupied most of the high-altitude battlefield since 1987, wants "iron-clad" evidence of existing troop positions to dissuade Pakistan from moving its soldiers forward in the event of a pull-out.

Pakistan fears that setting out its positions would be tacit acceptance of India's claims to Siachen and the area as a whole.

"Pakistan will have to demarcate the actual ground position line -- both on the ground as well as on the map -- before any headway is made," said the minister, who took the post last year.

"Our position from the beginning is very clear that before any forward movement is made, we must authenticate the actual ground position line."

The last round of talks on troop withdrawal took place in Islamabad last month.

Experts say India has around 5,000 troops on the glacier while Pakistan has less than half that number on the frigid wasteland, where temperatures plummet to minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit).

Kashmir -- of which Siachen is a part -- is divided between Pakistan and India and is claimed by both in full. It has caused two of the three wars between the neighbours since their independence in 1947 from Britain.

Both sides also fought a fierce skirmish on Siachen in 1987. Analysts say the value of the glacier is mostly symbolic rather than strategic.

More India war games on Pakistan's borders
New Delhi (AFP) May 8 - India is deploying battle tanks and combat troops for the second major wargames in a month along Pakistan's borders, the military said Tuesday.

The four-day exercise beginning Friday will be carried out by the million-plus army's largest strike corps on the arid plains of Jullandhar in the northern state of Punjab, the defence ministry said.

The event is seen by analysts as one of the most hawkish military moves since 2001, when Delhi deployed thousands of troops close to Pakistan after an attack by Islamist rebels on the Indian parliament left 14 people dead.

Codenamed Shatrunash or Death to the Enemy, the latest exercises will involve more than 15,000 troops backed by around 150 Russian-built T-90 tanks, artillery and helicopter gunships, commanders told AFP.

The defence ministry said Shatrunash will also test newly-acquired electronic warfare systems.

"The technological developments in recent times have opened a large number of avenues for creating computer-enabled support systems which reduces the decision-making time of the commanders," it said.

"Shatrunash is therefore designed to cater for integration of modern real time surveillance devices such as UAVs (drones), long-range observation systems, modern radars and air-space management systems."

The Indian military, the largest buyer of hardware among emerging nations, has recently acquired radars and drones and is currently shopping for long-range surveillance aircraft.

New Delhi is also due to finalise a contract for 126 combat aircraft worth seven billion dollars and artillery systems worth 900 million dollars.

India's recent big-ticket acquisitions, including six French submarines, a refurbished Russian aircraft carrier and Israeli Phalcon AWACS aircraft, have raised concern in neighbouring Pakistan.

Last Friday India concluded a smaller-scale military exercise along Pakistan's borders.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947, including two over their unresolved dispute about Kashmir.

Email This Article

Related Links
News From Across The Stans