Disengagement at 2 friction points in Ladakh in final stages: Sources           

Troop disengagement at two friction points at Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh following a key agreement firmed up between India and China is in the "final stages", official sources said on Tuesday.

On October 25, Army sources had said the process is likely to get completed by October 28-29.

The agreement framework was "signed" first at the diplomatic level and then military-level talks took place, Army sources had said, adding the nitty-gritty of the agreement was worked in the Corps Commander-level talks, which was signed last week.

Adhering to agreements between the two sides, Indian troops then began to pull back equipment to rear locations in these areas.

The disengagement at the two friction points is in its "final stages", an official source said on Tuesday.

Sources last week said the agreement was arrived at only for these two friction points, and "talks were still under way" for other areas.

Sources have said that patrolling will begin at these points once the disengagement that began last week is completed and both sides will move their respective troops and dismantle temporary structures.

Eventually, they added, the areas and patrolling status is expected to be moved back to pre-April 2020 level.

The patrolling will be done by armed personnel and structures to be dismantled include temporary sheds and tents, a source said.

The process follows the agreement firmed up between the two countries on patrolling and disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, a major breakthrough to end the over four-year standoff.

The ties between the two Asian giants had nosedived following a fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.