Government not to withdraw troops from the Siachen Glacier

New Delhi, Dec 13 (UNI) The Government has taken no decision to pull out troops from the Siachen Glacier, Rajya Sabha was informed today.

To the questions of Mr B Janardhana Poojari, Mr Tariq Anwar and Mr Motilal Vohra who sought to know if the Indian Army had been asked to retreat from the demilitarising Siachen Glacier, Defence Minister A K Antony said no such decision had been taken.

The MPs also sought to know if the demilitarisation was part of Confidence Building Measures with Pakistan and China and if the Glacier was undefended, which would mean foregoing strategic advantage militarily.

To a question, if the government had any proposal to pay compensation to farmers whose land had been used for defence purposes to build bunkers and small ditches on the Indo-Pak border particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Antony said the details were being collected by the Army authorities and the Director General of Defence Estates.

UNI MCN LS DS1515