No immediate troop pullout: India

INDIA: India's army chief Thursday ruled out any immediate troop withdrawals from a disputed Himalayan glacier as part of ongoing talks with arch-rival Pakistan.

"We should not call it demilitarisation as it is a process and the first step will be disengagement and the next will be demilitarisation, but it is not immediately on the horizon as we see," Indian Army Chief J.J. Singh told a news conference.

The statement came as Islamabad continue to discuss the withdrawal of troops from the Siachen glacier - dubbed the world's highest battlefield where Indian forces currently hold strategically superior positions.

The two countries are scheduled to hold talks next month on Siachen that India's national security adviser said must produce "iron-clad guarantees" to be successful. "We have conveyed our concerns and views to the (Indian) government," the general said.

Military experts estimate a 7,000-strong Indian military and 4,000 Pakistani troops are stationed on the 6,300-metre (20,700-foot) icy wasteland in divided Kashmir. Cold claims more lives than actual combat on the glacier.

NEW DELHI, Friday AFP