Two-day defence secretaries level talks between Pakistan and India on the outstanding issue of Siachin will begin in New Delhi from today (Monday),
Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Akhtar Ali will be leading the Pakistani delegation while the Indian side will be represented by Pradeep Kumar.
The Siachin issue surfaced when India secretly occupied a large part of Siacin glacier in 1984, triggering skirmishes between the two countries that continue till today.
Today’s will be the 12th round of defence secretary level bilateral talks resumed after gap of three years. The first round was held in 1985.
Pakistan had been demanding an end to the Siachin occupation under the Simla Pact. Talks held on the issue so far had failed to bear any fruit.
Located at an altitude of 5400 meters above sea-level, the battlefield’s temperature drops down to as low as minus 40 degrees centigrade where 95 percent of deaths occur not because of the fights but due to unbearably cold weather and difficult terrain.