(MENAFN- Live Mint) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday warned Pakistan against any aggression towards the Sir Creek region and said that any such move would be met with a "resounding response" that could change "history and geography".

Rajnath Singh made the comments during Dussehra celebrations on Thursday, October 2. He celebrated Vijaya Dashami with soldiers at a military base near the border city of Bhuj in Gujarat and performed 'shastra puja' (worship of weapons) on the occasion.

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In his address, the minister targeted Pakistan , saying that India's fight against cross-border terrorism will continue and any misadventure by Islamabad in the Sir Creek sector will invite a "decisive response."

He mentioned the "recent expansion" of Pakistan's military infrastructure in the areas adjacent to Sir Creek.

What is Sir Creek region?

Sir Creek is a 96-km-long tidal estuary or a "fluctuating tidal channel" between Gujarat's Rann of Kutch and Pakistan. It is considered a disputed region due to varying interpretations of maritime boundary lines by both sides.

The Rann lies on the border between Gujarat and the Pakistani province of Sind. Sir Creek is a strategic and sensitive zone along the Gujarat coastline.

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The dispute centres on the interpretation of the maritime boundary line between Pakistan and India, India Today reported. Before independence, the area was part of British India. After independence in 1947, Sindh became part of Pakistan while Gujarat remained a part of India.

India wants the maritime boundary demarcated first, while Pakistan insists the dispute itself must be settled before that.

According to the report, Pakistan cites a 1914 resolution to claim that the entire creek belongs to Sindh . However, India argues that the same resolution also invoked the thalweg principle, which sets the boundary along the middle of the navigable channel.

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India further cites a 1925 map and mid-channel pillars to back its position, while Pakistan contends that the thalweg applies only to rivers, not tidal estuaries like Sir Creek.

Besides, Pakistan claims that Sir Creek is not navigable, so the thalweg principle cannot apply. However, India argues that the region remains navigable during high tide and the boundary should be settled according to international norms, the Hindustan Times reported.

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According to Durham University in England, the dispute over Sir Creek can be traced back to the pre-independence period, "to around 1908, when an argument ensued between the rulers of Kutch and Sind over a pile of firewood lying on the banks of a creek dividing the two principalities".

"The dispute was taken up by the government of Bombay state, which, in 1914, resolved the dispute supported by Map Number B44 and subsequently B74.1. Nothing significant happened in the next 40-50 years, and the dispute came alive again only in the 1960s," the university explained in a paper.

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In 1965, after armed clashes, Pakistan asserted that half of the Rann along the 24th parallel was Pakistani territory .

"India countered that the boundary ran roughly along the northern edge of the Rann. The matter was referred to an international tribunal for arbitration," as per the information from Durham University.

The Tribunal known as the Indo-Pakistani Western Boundary Case Tribuna announced its Award on 19 February 1968, upheld 90% of India's claim to the entire Rann, conceding small sectors to Pakistan.

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The Sir Creek dispute originated after the parties had agreed before the Kutch tribunal to limit their larger dispute over the Rann to the boundary in the north. To the south lay an "agreed boundary" that began at the head of Sir Creek and ran a short distance eastward roughly along the 24th parallel, the report claimed.

The sole issue was whether the short agreed boundary from the head of Sir Creek went all the way east or rose at a right angle at its western end to reach the northern limit of the Rann.

The tribunal accepted India's case that it did turn north and that almost the entire Rann was Indian.

The dispute hinges on the demarcation of the boundary from“the mouth of Sir Creek to the top of Sir Creek” and from“the top of the Sir Creek eastwards to a point (on land) designated as the Western Terminus”.

Beyond this point, the boundary is clearly defined by the 1968 Tribunal Award, as per the India Today report.

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The Ministry of External Affairs said in 2019 that India and Pakistan have held bilateral talks on the Sir Creek issue, including under the composite dialogue.

It informed, "The last such formal talks were held in June 2012 and the two sides inter alia discussed the land boundary in the Sir Creek area and delimitation of the International Maritime Boundary between India and Pakistan."

"In December 2015, it was agreed to start a Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue. This included the Sir Creek issue. However, the terror attack on the Airbase in Pathankot in January 2016 and Pakistan's continued support to cross-border terrorism against India have prevented holding of any structured bilateral dialogue," the ministry said in its reply to the Lok Sabha.

What did Rajnath Singh say?

Rajnath Singh said in his speech on Thursday that the road to Karachi passes through the creek.

Singh drew attention to the fact that even after 78 years of Independence, Pakistan "continues to create disputes" over the Sir Creek sector, despite India's repeated efforts to resolve the issue through dialogue.

"The neighbouring country's recent expansion of military infrastructure in the Sir Creek sector reflects its ill intention," he said.

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"Any misadventure by Pakistan in the Sir Creek sector will invite a decisive response," Singh said, adding, "If Pakistan dares to act in the Sir Creek sector, the reply will be so strong that it will change both history and geography."

"In 1965, the Indian Army showed courage by reaching Lahore and in 2025, Pakistan must remember that the road to Karachi also passes through the creek," Rajnath Singh said.

In his remarks, Singh lauded the armed forces for "successfully thwarting" Pakistan's attempts to breach India's defence network during Operation Sindoor.

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"Pakistan tried to penetrate India's defences from Leh to the Sir Creek sector, but the swift and effective counter-action of the Indian forces not only exposed the weaknesses of Pakistan's air-defence syste , but also sent out a clear message to the world that India can inflict heavy damage at a time, place and manner of its choosing," Rajnath Singh added.

The defence minister also virtually inaugurated a tidal-berthing facility and a Joint Control Centre in the strategic Sir Creek sector.

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