E-Paper
'Is it true?': Owaisi to govt over China's claim on PLA disengagement in Ladakh
Quoting the Chinese foreign ministry, HT had reported that soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have disengaged in the Hot Spring area of LAC in eastern Ladakh.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday questioned the government over its silence over the last two rounds of military talks between India and China on the border dispute in Ladakh and demanded a proper debate in Parliament over the issue. Quoting the Chinese foreign ministry, Hindustan Times on Wednesday reported that soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have disengaged in the Hot Spring area of Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
In a series of tweets, citing the HT report, Owaisi asked, "Will the Government please confirm whether this is true? If that is so, what were the last two rounds of border talks about?"
In another tweet, the AIMIM MP said the attitude and approach of the government on sensitive issues of national security, including our territorial integrity, is unacceptable.
Also Read | China's new claim on PLA disengagement in eastern Ladakh’s Hot Spring area
"I have personally been raising questions repeatedly about situation on the Ladakh border where our soldiers are being denied access to territories they patrolled earlier. But the Govt has refused to state the truth so far, even in Parliament, resorting to silence and misdirection... There should be a proper debate in Parliament about the Ladakh border crisis and on our strategy to deal with China," he wrote.
Owaisi also hit out at the government after India accidentally misfired a missile in Pakistan on March 9.
"There is a border crisis which is on in Ladakh. We 'accidentally' fire a missile into Pakistan. The public is not kept informed. The government so more interested in polarising the society. This is a recipe for disaster, Wazir e AZAM," he tweeted.
The Union government on March 11 had called the incident "deeply regrettable.”
Following the 15th round of talks between military commanders on March 11, HT had reached out to the Chinese foreign ministry for its response on the negotiations. The ministry responded with a brief statement in Mandarin.
“China and India held the 15th round of commander-level talks on March 11 and issued a joint press release,” the statement said. “Since last year, the two sides have successively achieved disengagement in the Galwan Valley, Pangong Lake and Hot Spring areas. The current situation on the ground is stable and controllable.”
On the talks, the foreign ministry said: “The two sides agreed to maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic channels to reach a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible.”
The Chinese statement didn’t mention areas where disengagement is yet to be completed, or why the process is being prolonged.
Not all areas of contention at Hot Spring had been cleared, people familiar with the matter made it clear, while declining to go into details. The last round of disengagement was done by pulling back front line troops from Gogra or patrolling point 17A during August 4-5, 2021, the people said.
This was in line with an agreement reached during the 12th round of military talks on July 31, 2021.
Until now, China has only officially acknowledged the withdrawal of troops from Pangong Lake area in February 2021 and from the Galwan Valley the year before.
