"I would like to inform the House that disengagement has now been achieved in full in Eastern Ladakh through a step by step process, culminating in Depsang and Demchok. With the task of disengagement completed, it is now our expectation that discussions would commence in regard to the remaining issues that we had placed on the agenda," Jaishankar said in a statement.
The "twin considerations of an unstable local situation and an impacted bilateral relationship", under discussion since September 2022, were the main drivers of the 21 October disengagement pact, Jaishankar said. Further, he informed the Parliament that the disengagement issue and the overall Sino-India relationship figured in his recent meetings with Wang Yi in Astana on 25 July and Vientiane on 25 July.
"The problem in these two areas pertained primarily to obstructions of our long-standing patrolling activity. In Demchok, there was also the question of access by our nomadic population to traditional grazing grounds, as well as to sites of significance to the local people," Jaishankar provided further details.
"The Special Representatives [NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese FM Wang Yi] are also to oversee the management of peace and tranquility besides exploring a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question," Jaishankar said.