Siachen talks stuck as Pak mouths legalese

Pakistan's insistence that it will authenticate the Siachen boundary only if India gives an undertaking that it will not be treated as a legal basis for staking claim over the territory is behind the latest logjam over the issue.

There was widespread expectation that the tenth round of the secretary-level talks between Indian Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt and Pakistan Defence Secretary Kamran Rasul earlier this month might lead to a breakthrough.

However, top sources said while both India and Pakistan stuck to earlier positions on most issues, a new element in negotiations was Pakistan's insistence on an undertaking that India would not make any legal claims over the territory later.

This means the Siachen issue will now drag for longer. On the ground, negotiating positions have not changed even after nine rounds of negotiations.

Right now, India and Pakistan are battling on three conceptual issues. India says its territory extends along the waterway (that is, the glacier) and therefore, the actual ground position line must be seen as extending along the Saltoro Ridge to Indira Col.

As Pakistan has ceded a part of the territory to China, it argues that India should vacate some part of the territory in the opposite direction. Doing so will mean India has to vacate the Saltoro Ridge.

Pakistan has alleged that in occupying Saltoro Ridge, India has violated the Simla Agreement. It is ready to recording troop presence but only if the Saltoro Ridge heights are vacated.

The problem is that like Kargil, India is worried that salami-slicing of its territory might begin anew if Pakistan is allowed to take control of the heights.

Pakistan's latest position: that resolution of Siachen is possible only if India asserts no legal claims later, is designed to ensure there is no resolution of the issue in the near future.

Although talks were perfectly cordial (contradicting reports that the Pakistan defence secretary walked out in a huff), forward movement on the issue is unlikely in the near future.