Zardari calls for withdrawal of India-Pak troops from Siachen

LAHORE - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the Indian and Pakistani troops from Siachen glacier should be pulled out, and the border conflict should be resolved amicably.

Zardari said that India was spending 50 dollars daily on each of its soldiers stationed at Siachen, while Rs. 50 each were being spent on Pakistani soldiers, which could instead be utilized for the development of both the countries.

“Even though Indian expenditures in Siachen are far more than Pakistan’s, we propose that the matter should be resolved amicably through talks, so that resources of the two countries can be spent on the welfare of their people,” The Daily Times quoted Zardari, as saying.

The glacier’s region is the highest battleground on earth, where both the countries have fought intermittently since April 1984.

India and Pakistan have earlier wished to disengage from the costly military outposts, but after the Pakistani incursions during the Kargil War in 1999, India abandoned plans to withdraw from Siachen unless there was an official recognition of the current line of control by Pakistan.

Earlier, in June 2005, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had visited the area, and called for a peaceful resolution of the problem. (ANI)