India is planning to open up access for tourists to the Siachen Glacier. The glacier is located on eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains along the disputed India-Pakistan border.
The Indian army is to encourage mountaineering and trekking expeditions to the second largest glacier in the Karakorum. For the last 20 years public access to the area has been effectively closed due to military unrest. Expeditions had to be joint trips including Indian team members and permits were extremely difficult to obtain.
This is great news for mountaineers and tourists who wish to visit the area, however, the move to open up the area to tourists has angered neighbouring Pakistan. There's a deep concern that this could disrupt the ongoing peace process in the area. Read more at GuardianOnline, Reuters and Times of India.
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