Pakistani media analysts and politicians have called for a review of the deployment of forces at Siachen, where soldiers from the two countries have been engaged in standoff since 1984.
Notwithstanding Pakistan's vociferous protests, Indian Army will organise a civilian mountaineering and trekking expedition to the forbidding Siachen Glacier for the second year in a row in October-November this year. Even before the planned Siachen trekking kicks off, the Indian Army will take out its own expedition to the glacial heights of Khatling on the Indo-Tibetan border in Uttarakhand later this month.
Jet Airways on Friday became the first private airliner to land at Thoise in Siachen
A patrol party came under the avalanche at Turtuk area of Siachen, the highest battleground in the world
The body of Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad was laid to rest with full state honours, after thousands of people bid an emotional farewell to the Siachen braveheart at his native village of Betadur in Dharwad district of north Karnataka on Friday.
The issue of Siachen is not complicated like the issue of Kashmir; it could be resolved overnight but needs serious consideration, says Tahir Ali.
After a gap of seven years, India and Pakistan resumed defence secretary-level talks focussed on military de-escalation.
PM, Parrikar, Rahul condole loss of lives.
Acknowledging that the dialogue process with India had slowed down due to its domestic circumstances, Pakistan has said the two sides may be able to resolve Siachen and Sir Creek issues by early next year.
Pakistan on Monday protested against India's plan to throw open the Siachen glacier to tourists.
The report came a day after the Indian Army announced that it launched "punitive fire assaults" on Pak posts.
President Kalam, the supreme commander of the armed forces, spoke at length about the dangers of environmental degradation to the 72 km glacier in his address to the jawans.
Notwithstanding Pakistan's vociferous protests, India will organise a civilian mountaineering and trekking expedition to the forbidding Siachen Glacier for the fourth year in a row in October-November this year. "The Siachen trekking expedition this year is in its planning stage and is likely to take place some time in October-November," an Army officer involved in the planning of the trek said. The expedition has now become an annual affair.
Pay homage to the soldiers who lost their lives in the Siachen avalanche
Indian Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma arrived in Pakistan today for crucial talks on the military standoff on the Siachen glacier against the backdrop of calls to demilitarise the world's highest battlefield following an avalanche that killed 139 people.
An agreement to demilitarise Siachen alluded as Pakistan says it was for unilateral withdrawal of troops but declines to authenticate the positions on the higher reaches of the glacier held by Indian troops.
For the first time ever, the government has announced the number of Indian soldiers who have laid down their lives in the Siachen sector, ever since the Indian army made its first headlong rush to secure that strategic area in the summer of 1984.
Ahead of the talks next week with Pakistan on Siachen, Defence Minister A K Antony on Friday sought to lower the expectations, saying that no "dramatic announcement or decision" should be anticipated. He said India will stick to its stand on the issue at the defence secretary-level talks in Islamabad on June 11-12
This is the first time that an Indian prime minister is visiting the inhospitable glacier.
Pakistan is expected to maintain its old stand of willingness to agree for simultaneous pull back of troops to pre-1984 positions but would not authenticate the present positions held by India on Siachen on the maps as demanded by New Delhi.
One JCO and 9 other ranks of the Indian Army came under the avalanche.
He has said vacating the glacier by India would mean inviting Pakistan to 'come in without any botheration'.
After a gap of three years, defence secretaries of India and Pakistan on Monday met to discuss the long-pending Siachen issue.
Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt will hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart Kamran Rasool beginning in Rawalpindi tomorrow.
With cricket frenzy peaking in the country during the last week of the World Cup, army jawans posted at remote outposts of the inhospitable Siachen glacier were also not to be left behind -- getting ball-by-ball updates via satellite phones.
In an unusual remark, Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani has said that one of the reasons for recent devastating floods in his country could be human activity on the heavily-militarised Siachen glacier.
The trekking expedition comprising cadets from the National Cadet Corps will set off on a 22-day trip to the glacier.
The defence minister said the country needed a "second Green Revolution" to meet the challenges of feeding the growing population
The village of Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad plunged into grief as he passed away on Thursday after battling for life since his miraculous survival in Siachen, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah leading the state in paying homage to the braveheart from Karnataka.
Indian and Pakistani officials have made no forward movement on resolving the military standoff on the Siachen glacier, with both sides sticking to their stated positions in two-day talks, diplomatic and official sources said on Tuesday.
Pakistan's reluctance to authenticate has prevented any move in talks over the issue.
The talks will be held in Islamabad, sources told PTI in Delhi on Monday after a meeting between External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri.
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