[Indian and Pakistani defence secretaries are meeting today to resume the dialogue on Siachen glacier, one of the contentious border issues between the two countries. But how many of us know how the Siachen came into Indian possession? Yes, it was with the blood and sweat of our troops operating at inhospitable heights of over 21,000 feet. Will it be traded off as a 'goodwill gesture' for some dubious promises from Pakistan? For thos of us who took part in the 1965 and 1971 wars where in the end we made such trade offs, it is a troubling question. I am reproducing Ajai Shukla's blog on the story of capture of the highest post in Siachen and the grit of the soldiers who did that. It symbolises one of the greatest moments of our army. - R HARIHARAN]
By Ajai Shukla, 30th May 11
On a moonless night in Siachen, in May 1987, Second Lieutenant Rajiv Pande’s thirteen-man patrol silently climbed towards Quaid Post, a 21,153-feet high pinnacle near the crucial Bilafond La pass that was held by 17 Pakistani soldiers. Quaid had to be captured and Pande was fixing ropes on the near-vertical, 1500-feet ice wall just below the post, to assist a larger follow-on force in making a physical assault. As the jawans fixed the ropes, gasping for breath in that oxygen-depleted altitude, the Pakistani sentries just a few hundred feet above heard them. Gunfire rang out killing nine Indian soldiers, including Pande. But the four survivors could tell their unit, 8 Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry (8 JAK LI), that the ropes were fixed.
Capturing Quaid post was vital being the only Pakistani post that dominated key Indian positions at Bilafond La. Realising its importance, Pakistan named it after Qaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The post, commanded by Subedar Ataullah Mohammed, was held by commandoes from the elite Special Services Group.
