Siachen: Conflict without End

The Ongoing Siachen Conflict: A Battle Against Nature and Finances

Abstract

The highest battlefield in the world, the Siachen Glacier has witnessed conflict between India and Pakistan for over thirteen years. It has so far resulted in hundreds of casualties caused mostly by adverse climatic conditions and harsh terrain rather than military skirmishes. The conflict is also putting an enormous financial burden on the national exchequer on both sides. Siding down a valley in the Karakoram Range, the glacier is 76 kilometers long and varies in width between 2 to 8 kilometers. If receives up to 6 to 7 meters of the annual total of 10 meters of snow in the winter months. Blizzards can reach speeds of up to 150 knots (nearly 300 kilometers per hour).