Mountain of war: The India-Pakistan conflict’s deadliest battle zone
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- Siachen glacier – a 70‑km long glacier in the Karakoram, has been a battlefield between India and Pakistan since April 1984.
- India and Pakistan – traded missiles and drones over four days in May 2025 after a civilian attack in Pahalgam, marking the worst military confrontation between the two since the 1999 Kargil war.
- Indian Army – suffered a fatal ice‑wall collapse on 3 February 2016 that buried a post, killing 10 soldiers and leaving only one survivor, Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, who died three days later.
- Human toll – more than 2,000 people have died in the Siachen conflict since 1984, but fewer than 3 % of those deaths were combat‑related; the rest were caused by extreme cold, avalanches, and altitude.
- Environmental impact – the glacier receives about 900 kg of human waste daily and artillery containing toxic metals, contaminating meltwater that feeds the Nubra and Shyok rivers.
- Financial burden – India’s last disclosed Siachen budget (2015‑16) was $499 million, while Pakistan’s estimated annual expenditure for the region was $50‑$60 million, with current costs likely higher due to inflation and logistics.
Why it matters: India and Pakistan bear the brunt of Siachen’s human and financial costs, each spending up to $500 million annually on troops, logistics, and equipment, while meltwater contamination poses a risk to downstream communities and the fragile Karakoram ecosystem, further straining the region’s already fragile water supply.
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