Pakistan has taken serious notice of reports that the US Army chief Gen W Casey is scheduled to visit the Siachen glacier in Jammu and Kashmir [Images] during his ongoing three-day visit to India.

"Any such visit to an area which is disputed and which is under discussion between Pakistan and India will certainly cast a shadow on the ongoing composite dialogue between the two neighbours," a Foreign Office spokesman told The News daily.

He said there was no official confirmation of the American general's plan to visit Siachen.

In the past, Pakistan has objected to India allowing civil and military expeditions to the Siachen glacier, where troops from both countries have been engaged in a face-off since 1984.

Indian and Pakistani troops regularly traded fire along the Line of Actual Control on Siachen till a ceasefire was put in place along the frontiers in Jammu and Kashmir in late 2003.

However, more troops from both sides have lost their lives due to inclement weather condition than to bullets on Siachen, often described as the world's highest and coldest battlefield.

Gen Casey will be briefed on high-altitude land warfare techniques during his visit to Siachen base camp.