While offering a treaty of “peace, friendship and security” to Pakistan in March 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had hinted that issues like the dispute over the Siachen glacier region and the boundary dispute in Sir Creek could be resolved soon. Pakistan’s then Foreign Minister, Khurshid Ahmed Kasuri, had claimed that discussions to demilitarize the Siachen conflict zone, as a prelude to a final agreement to extend the Line of Control (LoC) beyond map reference NJ 9842, had made substantial progress towards reaching an agreement. However, the Indian side had been reticent and Defence Minster A K Antony, who visited Siachen on May 5, 2007, had gone so far as to say that there is no question of progress on demilitarisation unless Pakistan agreed to authenticate the forward positions of Indian troops. The Indo-Pak peace process needs a showpiece agreement if it is to be revived and carried forward successfully. Only an agreement to demilitarize the Siachen conflict zone could provide the fillip that is necessary

• What is the strategic relevance of the Siachen glacier region?
• Why has a resolution evaded both sides and what are the principal reasons for the continued occupation?
• How do we break the deadlock?
• What are the prospects of a high altitude ecological park?

About the Series
As a part of its ongoing project titled "Indo-Pak dialogue on Conflict Resolution and Peace Building," the Institute is publishing a series of background papers on various Indo-Pak bilateral issues. Besides, the Institute is also organizing track-II dialogue between the two countries in October 2009 in Bangkok.