The Siachen Glacier, about 76 km long, lies in the eastern Karakoram of Ladakh and is one of the longest glaciers outside the polar regions; India has held it and the Saltoro Ridge since Operation Meghdoot in 1984, making it the world's highest battlefield.
The Siachen Glacier flows south-east from the high Karakoram between the Saltoro Ridge to the west and the main Karakoram range to the east. Its meltwater gives rise to the Nubra river, which joins the Shyok and then the Indus. The name is commonly said to mean "place of wild roses" in the local Balti language. For centuries the area was uninhabited, visited only by explorers and mountaineers.
The Karachi Agreement of 1949 and the Simla Agreement of 1972 drew a ceasefire line, later the Line of Control, up to a point called NJ9842 near the Shyok, but described its continuation only vaguely as running "thence north to the glaciers". In the 1970s and early 1980s, Pakistan began permitting foreign mountaineering expeditions into the area, and maps in some countries showed the line extending north-east to the Karakoram Pass, which would have placed Siachen on Pakistan's side. Concerned that Pakistan would occupy the heights, India launched Operation Meghdoot in April 1984 and secured the Saltoro Ridge passes, including Sia La and Bilafond La. Since then, Indian troops have held the Actual Ground Position Line along the ridge.
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