A pall of gloom envelops the national mood as efforts are on for the rescue of 135 people - 124 soldiers and 11 civilian contractors - buried under a massive avalanche at the Gayari headquarters of the 6th Northern Light Infantry Battalion on the Siachen Glacier. Avalanches are not rare in the area but this is the worst calamity in 20 years of the battalion's presence at Gayari.
Considering that the mass of snow that engulfed the camp is 1000 metres wide and 25 metres high, hopes of finding any survivors are dim, yet as the Army spokesman said, miracles do happen. People have been rescued before from seemingly impossible situations. The nation's prayers will remain with those brave men defending the motherland on the world's highest battlefield until each one of them is accounted for.
Weather is the biggest enemy of soldiers at the inhospitable over 7000 metres high battleground. A large majority of casualties has been caused by extreme weather conditions and altitude sickness rather than fighting. It is pertinent to recall here that the Cease-fire Line, renamed Line of Control in the Simla Agreement, left Siachen undemarcated, precisely because it was inhabitable. The two countries had no permanent military presence on the glacier.
The Indian army saw that as an opportunity, and moved in to occupy Saltoro ridge in April 1984, and started what would be an endless and pointless conflict. Pakistan, of course, had to respond, which it did as soon as it learned about the Indian advance a week later. Since India had taken the initiative it occupied a larger part of the glacier, including advantageous high ground.
Yet Pakistani forces managed to take control of some other important sections of the Siachen glacier, such as Gyong La pass which overlooks Shyok and Nubra river valley and also India's passage to the Occupied Kashmir's Leh district. Most important, despite periodic attempts neither side has been able to dislodge the other from its positions.
Twenty-eight years on, the stand-off remains as frozen as its surroundings, yet human lives continue to fall victim to a hostile environment. The present tragedy underscores the futility of the Siachen confrontation. So far attempts to end the conflict have failed to make any headway because of India's unreasonable stance.
A sensible solution would be for both sides to go back to their pre-April '84 positions. Which is what Pakistan proposes, suggesting that the undemarcated zones be declared no man's land. India has been resisting the idea because its army is said to want to keep the gains made in its surreptitious advance. It insists that a demarcation line be drawn on the basis of present positions.
Going by that logic, General Musharraf's Kargil adventure would be legitimate if it achieved some success. But the Kargil episode angered India to no end - understandably so. Morality though counts for little in situations like these. It is in the interest of durable peace the two countries now seek to resolve this nearly three-decade long conflict and return their troops to pre-conflict positions.