none|thumb|300px|right|सियाचिन ग्लेशियर

'''सियाचिन ग्लेशियर''' या  '''सियाचिन हिमनद''' (:en:Siachen Glacier) हिमालय के काराकोरम रेंज के पूर्वी भाग मे स्थित है, (लगभग देशान्तर:७७.० पूर्व, अक्षांश: ३५.५ उत्तर )। यह काराकोरम के पांच सबसे बडे हिमनद मे से एक है। समुद्र तल से इसकी उचाई स्रोत्र इंदिरि पास के पास लगभग १८,८७५ फुट और चीन की सीमा के पास उसकी टोंटी पे ११,८७५ फुट है।  यह लगभग ७० किमी लम्बा है। 

सामरिक रुप से यह भारत और पाकिस्तान के लिए बहुत महत्वपूर्ण माना जाता है। यह विश्व का सबसे ऊंचा युद्ध क्षेत्र है। इस पर सेनाएँ तैनात रखना दोनों ही देशों के लिए महंगा सौदा साबित हो रहा है। सूत्रों का कहना है कि सियाचिन में भारत के १० हजार सैनिक तैनात हैं और इनके रखरखाव पर प्रतिदिन ५ करोड़ रुपये का खर्च आता है। 

{{Infobox Glacier | glacier_name = Siachen Glacier
  | image_name = SiachenGlacier satellite.jpg
  | caption = Satellite imagery of the Siachen Glacier
  | type = Mountain glacier
  | location = Ladakh, Kashmir, India/Pakistan
  | coordinates = 
  | area = 
  | length = 70 km (43&nbsp;mi) 
  | thickness =
  | terminus = 
  | status = Disputed. India currently controls the Siachen Glacier (since 1984)
}}

The '''Siachen Glacier''' is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains along the disputed India-Pakistan border at approximately . It is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second longest in the world's non-polar areas.<ref> Siachen Glacier is 70 km long; Tajikistan's Fedchenko Glacier is 77 km long. The second longest in the Karakoram Mountains is the Biafo Glacier at 63 km.  Measurements are from recent imagery, supplemented with Russian 1:200,000 scale topographic mapping as well as the 1990 "Orographic Sketch Map: Karakoram:  Sheet 2", Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, Zurich.</ref> It ranges from an altitude of 5,753 m (18,875 ft) above sea level at its source at Indira Col (pass) on the China border to its snout at 3,620 m (11,875 ft) 

The Siachen Glacier lies south of the great watershed that separates glaciated portion of the Karakoram that is sometimes called the "Third Pole."   The 70 km (43.5 mile) long Siachen glacier lies between the Saltoro Ridge line immediately to the west and the main Karakoram range to the east. The Saltoro Ridge originates in the north from the Sia Kangri peak on the China border in the Karakoram range. The crest of the Saltoro Ridge's altitudes range from 5,450 to 7,720 m (17,880 to 25,330 feet). The major passes on this ridge are, from north to south, Sia La at 5,589 m (18,336 ft), Bilafond La at 5,450 m (17,880 ft), and Gyong La at 5,689 m (18,665 ft) The average winter snowfall is 10.5&nbsp;m (35&nbsp;ft) and temperatures can dip to -50 degrees Celsius (-58 degrees Fahrenheit).

==Conflict Zone==

right|thumb|250px|The Siachen Glacier area is the smallest orange area.

In spite of the severe climate, the word 'Siachen' ironically means 'the place of wild roses', a reference some people attribute to the abundance of Himalayan wildflowers found in the valleys below the glacier, but which specifically refers to the thorny wild plants which grow on the rocky outcrops. The naming of the glacier, or at least its currency, is due to Tom Longstaff. The glacier is the highest battleground on earth, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since April 13, 1984. Both countries maintain permanent military personnel in the region at a height of over . The site is a prime example of mountain warfare. The glacier's melting waters are the main source of the Nubra River, which drains into the Shyok River. The Shyok in turn joins the Indus River, thus the glacier is a major source of the river Indus. Global warming has had one of its worst impacts here in the Himalayas with the glaciers melting at an unprecedented rate and monsoon rains now appearing north of the mountains. The volume of the glacier has been reduced by 35 percent over the last twenty years and  military activity since 1984 has also been blamed for much of the degradation of the glacier.<ref>[http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=345084&sid=ENV&ssid=26 Zee News - Siachen glacier melting fast due to military activity: study<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The conflict in Siachen stems from the confusion in the improperly demarcated territory on the map beyond the map coordinate known as NJ9842. The 1949 Karachi Agreement and the 1972 Simla Agreement did not clearly mention who controlled the glacier, merely stating that from the NJ9842 location the boundary would proceed "thence north to the glaciers." In 1957 Pakistan permitted a British expedition under Eric Shipton to approach the Siachen through the Bilafond La, and recce Saltoro Kangri.<ref>Himalayan Journal Vol. 21</ref> Five years later a Japanese-Pakistani expedition put two Japanese and a Pakistani Army climber on top of Saltoro Kangri.<ref> Himalayan Journal Vol. 25 </ref> These were early moves in this particular game of oropolitics.

The United States Defense Mapping Agency (now National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency) began in about 1967 to show, with no legal or treaty-derived justification or any boundary documentation, an international boundary on their Tactical Pilotage Charts available to the public and pilots as proceeding from NJ9842 east-northeast to the Karakoram Pass at 5,534&nbsp;m (18,136&nbsp;ft) on the China border. <ref>[http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200302/200302_siachen_7.html 2003 article about Siachen in Outside magazine]</ref> Numerous governmental and private cartographers and atlas producers followed suit.  This cartographic aggression resulted in the US cartographically "awarding" the entire 5,000 square kilometers (1,930 square miles) of the Siachen-Saltoro area to Pakistan.  Indian government and military took note.  Prior to 1984 neither India nor Pakistan had any permanent presence in the area.

==Fighting==
In the 1970s and early 1980s several mountaineering expeditions applied to Pakistan to climb high peaks in the Siachen area as U.S army maps deliberately showed it on Pakistani side of the Line of Control, and Pakistan granted them. This in turn reinforced the Pakistani claim on the area, as these expeditions arrived on the glacier with a permit obtained from the Government of Pakistan. Teram Kangri I () and Teram Kangri II () were climbed in 1975 by a Japanese expedition led by H. Katayama, which approached through Pakistan via the Bilafond La.<ref> SANGAKU 71</ref> Once having become aware of this and the errant US military  maps, Colonel N. Kumar of the Indian Army, then commanding the Army's High-Altitude Warfare School, mounted an Army expedition to the Siachen area as a counter-exercise. In 1978 this expedition climbed Teram Kangri II, claiming it as a first ascent in a typical 'oropolitical' riposte. Unusually for the normally secretive Indian Army, the news and photographs of this expedition were published in 'The Illustrated Weekly of India', a widely-circulated popular magazine.<ref>[http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200302/200302_siachen_1.html Outside magazine article about Siachen battleground]</ref> 

The first public mention of a possible conflict situation in the Siachen was an abbreviated article titled "High Politics in the Karakoram" by Joydeep Sircar in ''The Telegraph'' newspaper of Calcutta in 1982<ref>[http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060515/asp/nation/story_6221947.asp The Telegraph - Calcutta : Nation<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. The full text was printed as "Oropolitics" in the Alpine Journal, London, in 1984.<ref> Alpine Journal, 1984</ref> 

India launched the divine cloud messenger in a his memoirs, current Pakistani president, General SSG commando unit raised with Naib Subedar Lahore Summit. The 1995 attack by Pakistan SSG was significant as it resulted in 40 casualties for Pakistan troops without any changes in the positions. An Indian IAF MI-17 helicopter was shot down in 1996.

==Current situation==