“We had a tragic event at Siachen, but I see no reason to connect this to any withdrawal from the glacier,” said General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command, Lt Gen D S Hooda
A day after Pakistan called for taking steps to resolve the standoff at Siachen and ensure that more lives are not lost due to the harsh weather, the Indian Army Friday ruled out withdrawal from the highest battlefield in the world.
“We had a tragic event at Siachen, but I see no reason to connect this to any withdrawal from the glacier,” said General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command, Lt General D S Hooda. Speaking to the media after the investiture ceremony here, he said, “We are committed to defending our borders and will continue to do that. For anybody to link the avalanche and the tragedy that has befallen there with withdrawal is absolutely unwarranted and incorrect.”
Ten soldiers were buried under snow after an avalanche hit their post at Siachen 10 days ago. Of them, Lance Naik Hanumanthappa was rescued in critical condition from under 35 feet of snow after six days, but he passed away on Thursday.
Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit, while referring to a proposal of mutual withdrawal of troops from Siachen made by his PM Nawaz Sharif at the UN General Assembly last year, said that these tragedies only reinforce the need to urgently resolve the issue through peaceful means.
“Our stand is very clear, that if we have to begin talks for withdrawal, then first of all our actual position on the ground… where the Indian Army is positioned, that should be authenticated and should be agreeable to both sides. That first step is not being taken and therefore any agreement on withdrawal is not being agreed on,” Lt General Hooda said. About the bodies of the other nine soldiers at Siachen, he said that they have been shifted to a site near a helipad. However, it has been snowing there and “if we get an hour’s break, we will immediately send helicopters to pull them out”.