India, Pakistan to maintain Siachen Glacier truce

The defence secretary-level talks in New Delhi failed to produce a breakthrough on troop withdrawals from the Siachen Glacier in disputed Kashmir, but were described as friendly.

"The two sides held frank and constructive discussions in a cordial atmosphere," according to a joint statement issued by India's foreign ministry.

"They welcomed the successful continuation of the ceasefire since November 2003 and reaffirmed their desire to make it enduring. The defence secretaries agreed to continue the discussions to resolve the Siachen issue in a peaceful manner."

Experts said the continued deadlock over Siachen, where troops regularly engaged in artillery duels before the ceasefire, would not be a setback to peace efforts formally launched in 2004 by nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.

"The peace process has a wide spectrum, though the Siachen talks would have been a high-visibility item in the peace process," Indian security analyst Uday Bhaskar said.

India proposes both sides formally note down the troop positions they hold on the Siachen glacier before withdrawing forces from the region, and says Islamabad's refusal to do so is stalling a deal.

The Pakistani side has not been "agreeing to the proposal for authentication of positions for quite some time," Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said. He said discussions would continue in further talks but no dates were announced.

Military experts estimate 7,000 Indian troops and 4,000 Pakistani soldiers are deployed on the 6,300-metre (20,700-foot) glacier, where icy temperatures, altitude and accidents have claimed more lives than combat.

Analysts say Siachen is of little strategic value but India is concerned that Pakistan might send its troops to occupy a high ridge area if it withdraws.

Indian wants the troop positions marked out in case Pakistan moves its soldiers in after a withdrawal deal. Islamabad, however, fears that writing down the positions would be tacit acceptance of India's claims to Siachen.

India and Pakistan each hold part of Kashmir but claim it in full. Efforts toward reaching an agreement on Siachen are made more difficult by a deadly 16-year-old Islamic insurgency against New Delhi's rule in Indian Kashmir.

In 1999 Pakistan-backed invaders occupied the icy heights of Kargil, triggering fighting that cost hundreds of lives and brought the neighbours close to war. But there has been no fighting since late 2003 when a ceasefire took effect along the de facto border dividing the Himalayan region.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf this year urged India to withdraw troops from three Kashmiri cities and Siachen as a demilitarisation gesture.