Siachen, Sir Creek, Atlantique Incident and Insurgency in J and K

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Siachen

  • The conflict began in 1984 with India՚s successful Operation Meghdoot during which it wrested control of the Siachen Glacier from Pakistan and forced the Pakistanis to retreat west of the Saltoro Ridge. India has established control over all of the 70 kilometres (43 mi) long Siachen Glacier and all of its tributary glaciers, as well as the three main passes of the Saltoro Ridge immediately west of the glacier — Sia La, Bilafond La, and Gyong La. The Pakistanis control the glacial valley just five kilometres southwest of Gyong La. The Pakistanis have been unable get up to the crest of the Saltoro Ridge, while the Indians cannot come down and abandon their strategic high posts.
  • The line between where Indian and Pakistani troops are presently holding onto their respective posts is being increasingly referred to as the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) .
  • The conflict in Siachen stems from the incompletely demarcated territory on the map beyond the map coordinate known as NJ 9842. The 1972 Shimla Agreement did not clearly mention who controlled the glacier, merely stating that from the NJ 9842 location the boundary would proceed “thence north to the glaciers.”
  • A cease fire went into effect in 2003.
  • One of the factors behind the Kargil War in 1999 when Pakistan sent infiltrators to occupy vacated Indian posts across the Line of Control was their belief that India would be forced to withdraw from Siachen in exchange of a Pakistani withdrawal from Kargil.

Sir Creek

  • The creek, which opens up into the Arabian Sea, divides the Kutch region of the Indian state of Gujarat with the Sindh province of Pakistan.
  • Pakistan lays claim to the entire creek as per paras 9 and 10 of the Bombay Government Resolution of 1914. India sticks to its position that the boundary lies mid-channel as depicted in another map drawn in 1925, and implemented by the installation of mid-channel pillars back in 1924.
  • Another point of concern for Pakistan is that Sir Creek has changed its course considerably over the years. If the boundary line is demarcated according to the Thalweg principle, Pakistan stands to lose a considerable portion of the territory that was historically part of the province of Sindh. Acceding to India՚s stance would also result in the shifting of the land/sea terminus point several kilometres to the detriment of Pakistan, leading in turn to a loss of several thousand square kilometres of its Exclusive Economic Zone under the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea.
  • In April 1965, a dispute there contributed to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, A verdict was reached in 1968 which saw Pakistan getting 10% of its claim of .

Atlantique Incident

  • Though the creek has little military value, it holds immense economic gain.
  • The demarcation would also prevent the inadvertent crossing over of fishermen of both nations into each other՚s territories
  • India supports its stance by citing the Thalweg Doctrine in International Law.

Insurgency in J&K

  • A widespread armed insurgency started in Kashmir with the disputed 1987 election with some elements from the State՚s assembly forming militant wings which acted as a catalyst for the emergence of armed insurgency in the region. This led to the rise of an armed insurgency movement composed, in part, of those who unfairly lost elections. Pakistan supplied these groups with logistical support, arms, recruits and training.
  • Despite the change in the nature of the insurgency from a phenomenon supported by external forces to a primarily domestic driven movement the Indian government has continued to send large numbers of troops to the Indian border and to crackdown on civil liberties.
  • There have been widespread protests against Indian rule
  • After the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union, Mujahideen fighters, with the aid of Pakistan, slowly infiltrated Kashmir with the goal of spreading a radical Islamist ideology
  • The Indian National Census shows that Kashmir lags behind other states in most socio-development indicators such as literacy rates and has unusually high levels of unemployment. This contributes to anti-government sentiment.
  • All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an organization that uses moderate means to press for the rights of the Kashmiris, is often considered as the mediator between New Delhi and insurgent groups.
  • The different insurgent groups have different aims in Kashmir. Some want complete independence from both India and Pakistan, others want unification with Pakistan and still others just want greater autonomy from the Indian government.
  • Indian analysts allege that by supporting these insurgents, Pakistan is trying to wage a proxy war against India while Pakistan claims that it regards most of these insurgent groups as “freedom fighters” rather than terrorists
  • A 2010 survey found that 43% in J&K would favour independence, with support for the independence movement unevenly distributed across the region.