Parliamentary panel on defence intends to visit Galwan Valley in Ladakh

New Delhi, February 13

The parliamentary standing committee on defence intends to visit the Galwan Valley and Pangong Lake in the eastern Ladakh region which has been witness to a violent stand-off between the troops of India and China, sources said.

However, it might seek the permission of the government before visiting the strategically-located areas, they said.

The 30-member committee, chaired by senior BJP leader and former Union minister Jual Oram and of which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is a member, intends to visit the eastern Ladakh region in the last week of May or June, sources said on Friday.

The decision to visit these areas was taken in the panel’s latest meeting, they said. Gandhi did not attend it.

Also read: Amidst LAC deployments, Parliamentary panel flags delays in border road construction

The panel’s visit to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) depended on the approval from the government, sources added.

After a nine-month standoff, militaries of India and China reached an agreement on disengagement in the north and south banks of Pangong Lake that mandates both sides to cease forward deployment of troops in a “phased, coordinated and verifiable” manner.

On Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made a detailed statement in Parliament on the disengagement pact.

According to the agreement, China has to pull back its troops to east of Finger 8 areas in the northern bank while the Indian personnel will be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 in the region.

Similar action would take place on the south bank of the lake as well, Singh said. PTI

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