Siachen conflict  The Siachen conflict, sometimes referred to as the Siachen War, was a military conflict between India and Pakistan over the disputed Siachen Glacier region in Kashmir. A cease-fire went into effect in 2003. The contended area is nearly of territory. The conflict was started in 1984 by India's successful capture of the Siachen Glacier as part of Operation Meghdoot. India took control of the Siachen Glacier and its tributary glaciers, as well as all the main passes and heights of the Saltoro Ridge immediately west of the glacier, including Sia La, Bilafond La, and Gyong La. Pakistan controls the glacial valleys immediately west of the Saltoro Ridge. According to "TIME" magazine, India gained more than 2500 km2 of territory because of its military operations in Siachen. The Siachen Glacier is the highest battleground on earth, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since 13 April 1984. Both countries maintain a permanent military presence in the region at a height of over . More than 2000 people have died in this inhospitable terrain, mostly due to weather extremes and the natural hazards of mountain warfare. The conflict in Siachen stems from the incompletely demarcated territory on the map beyond the map coordinate known as NJ9842 (). The 1949 Karachi Agreement and 1972 Simla Agreement did not clearly mention who controlled the glacier, merely stating that the Cease Fire Line (CFL) terminated at NJ9842. UN officials presumed there would be no dispute between India and Pakistan over such a cold and barren region. Following the UN-mediated ceasefire in 1949, the line between India and Pakistan was demarcated up to point NJ9842 at the foot of the Siachen Glacier. The largely inaccessible terrain beyond this point was not demarcated, but delimited as thence north to the glaciers in paragraph B 2 (d) of the Karachi Agreement. Paragraph B 2 (d) of 1949 Karachi Agreement states: Later, following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and the Simla Agreement in July 1972, the ceasefire line was converted into the "Line of Control" extending from the ""Chhamb sector on the international border [to] the Turtok-Partapur sector in the north."" The detailed description of its northern end stated that from Chimbatia in the Turtok sector ""the line of control runs north-eastwards to Thang (inclusive to India), thence eastwards joining the glaciers.""