The ‘Cold War’ between India and Pakistan at 20,000 feet altitude: thousands killed and none shot since 2003
Since the 2003 ceasefire in Karakorum, no one has been killed in the war, but weather conditions and altitude continue to wreak havoc.
The war between India and Pakistan is not new. In fact, it started when Britain granted independence from its Indian colonial territory at the end of World War II and different countries were formed in August 1947. The Muslim side decided to secede from India to form Pakistan as an Islamic state. Everything became complicated when it came to deciding who would get Jammu and Kashmir, which had a Muslim majority, but was ruled by Hindus, who also wanted to form a country independent of Pakistan and India.
In October 1947, Pakistan invaded Kashmir. A few days later, the ruling maraja decided to request annexation from India, which entered his new territory with troops to defend it. Since then, and up to the present day, the conflict has continued with escalations in 1965, 1971 and 1999, but without the tension ever easing. In fact, along the way, China, which also claimed part of the territory, annexed in 1962 the Aksai Chin on the Indian side and in 1963 the Shaksgam Valley on the Pakistani side.
War in the Karakoram
In 1972 India and Pakistan agreed on a ‘Line of Control’ as a temporary border that neither side would cross until the conflict was resolved diplomatically. Since then, the two sides have violated that line countless times, but after each incident the line has been returned to in all but the most inhospitable area in the world to keep a war going. The Siachen Glacier, which means ‘Where the wild roses grow’, at an altitude of over 6,000 meters, in the middle of the Karakoram range, where there is no ‘Line of Control’ and both countries have been engaged in an inhuman war of positions since 1984.
In April of that year, Indian forces entered the glacier, taking advantage of the fact that the previous agreements had not demarcated the border limit of that area and after discovering that Pakistan was also planning to annex it. They controlled it almost completely, as well as the main mountain passes. Pakistan retained only the western slopes of the Saltoro. Immediately, Pakistan sent in troops and launched repeated offensives over the years without any success. Since then, there have been more than 2,700 dead according to official figures, although it is estimated that the actual numbers may be more than twice as high. It is estimated that around 95% of the deaths are not due to the fighting, but to the subhuman conditions of the terrain. In fact, since the 2003 ceasefire there has not been a single death from armed clashes, but every year there are dozens of deaths on both sides.
Living in hell on earth
The two countries still have between 120 and 150 posts in the area, with between 8,000 and 10,000 soldiers deployed who continue to die at a relentless rate from avalanches, avalanches, crevasses, altitude sickness, cold....
The highest Indian army posts are at 22,000 feet, the highest Pakistani posts are about 3,300 feet below. The death zone, where acclimatization is impossible, is at 26,000 feet, and above that it is only possible to survive for a few hours. However, according to scientific studies, above 19,500 feet it is not possible to live for long periods of time even through long phases of adaptation. Both armies make rotations so that their troops are not at the highest positions for more than six weeks. Even so, soldiers spend many months very high up and it is common for them to suffer from altitude sickness, and in some cases pulmonary and cerebral edema, which can be fatal.
As if that were not enough, the average temperature in the area is around -4ºF, and in winter temperatures can drop to -76ºF. Washing can be a risky exercise due to frostbite, and cooking is complicated. Add to that the drastic reduction in appetite at these altitudes, and soldiers may have lost 44 to 66 pounds of weight by the time they return. Amputations due to frostbite, brain damage, blindness, depression, insanity, suicidal tendencies... Being stationed on the Siachen glacier is the closest thing to living hell on earth... without having to fire a single shot.
And the worst thing is that the strategic interest of the glacier is nil. The most useless war among all the useless wars in history.
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