“India should talk to Pakistan as well as China to resolve the Siachen issue which is a humanitarian matter as soldiers are dying there,” said JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav in Rajya Sabha on Friday.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Mr. Yadav noted that recently 10 solders were buried under the ice after an avalanche hit a military post in Siachen, the highest battlefield in the world.
“This area is difficult to live. So far around 882 jawans have died there. It’s not just an issue of India, but also of Pakistan and China. It is a human issue. Their jawans also face the same fate,” he said.
“Earlier also we spoke to Pakistan over this (Siachen) issue and some solution was reached, but it went back to the old situation as both the countries do not trust each other,” Mr. Yadav said.
“I want to say whenever there are talks between India and Pakistan in the future... So I want to urge the government that if they discuss this issue first, there are chances that a solution can be arrived at with regard to the condition of jawans posted on Siachen. We should also talk to China,” he added.
Mr. Yadav’s party colleague Pavan Varma, who is a former Foreign Service officer, raised the issue of China forging closer trade and diplomatic ties with Nepal, a development he said could have “serious strategic implications” for India.
Mr. Varma referred to the visit of Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to China in March during which the two sides signed a transit agreement that includes access to Chinese ports as well as the potential construction of rail links between the two countries.
The Ministry of External Affairs says that this trip and the pacts will not have any serious implication for India, he noted.
“What are we doing to strengthen our relationship with Nepal? What is China’s nefarious game in this region? I think sometimes the government’s eye is off the strategic ball,” said the former IFS officer who served as Ambassador to various countries, including Bhutan.
Some Congress MPs also associated themselves with the issue raised by Mr. Varma.
