Simla Agreement

Simla Agreement, 2 July 1972

This agreement on Bilateral Relations between India and Pakistan was signed after the 1971 India-Pakistan War, in which Pakistan was defeated conclusively and which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh. India refrained from attacking or finishing off Pakistan and signed this agreement with the hope that henceforth the countries in the region would be able to live in peace with each other. The then Pakistani Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, also promised the then Indian Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, that his country would accept the Line of Control (LOC) in the state of J&K as the de facto border and would not try to destabilize it. This was not formally entered in the agreement because Bhutto said it would cause domestic problems for him at this juncture. Mrs. Gandhi magnanimously accepted his promise and did not formalize that part of the agreement. But Pakistan, as later events were to prove, never kept its part of the deal.

(1)  The Government of India and the Government of Pakistan are resolved that the two countries put an end to the conflict and confrontation that have hitherto marred their relations and work for the promotion of a friendly and harmonious relationship and the establishment of durable peace in the sub-continent, so that both countries may henceforth devote their resources and energies to the pressing task of advancing the welfare of their peoples.

In order to achieve this objective, the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan have agreed as follows:

(i) That the principles and purposes off the Charter of the United Nations shall govern the relations between the countries;

(ii) That the two countries are resolved to settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations or by any other peaceful means mutually agreed upon between them. Pending the final settlement of any of the problems between the two countries, neither side shall unilaterally alter the situation and both shall prevent the organization, assistance or encouragement of any acts detrimental to the maintenance of peaceful and harmonious relations.

(iii) That the pre-requisite for reconciliation, good-neighborliness and durable peace between them is a commitment by both countries to peaceful co-existence, respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit;

(iv) That the basic issues and causes of conflict which have bedeviled the relations between the two countries of the last twenty-five years shall be resolved by peaceful means;

(v) That they shall always respect each other’s national unity, territorial integrity, political independence and sovereign equality;

(vi) That in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, they shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of each other;

(2) Both Governments will take all steps within their power to prevent hostile propaganda directed against each other.

Both countries will encourage the dissemination of such information as would promote the development of friendly relations between them;

(3) In order progressively to restore and normalize relations between the two countries step by step, it was agreed that;

(i) Steps shall be taken to resume communications, postal, telegraphic, sea, land including border posts, and air links including over flights;

(ii) Appropriate steps shall be taken to promote travel facilities for the nationals of the other country;

(iii) Trade and co-operation in economic and other agreed fields will be resumed as far as possible;

(iv) Exchange in the fields of science and culture will be promoted.

In this connection delegations from the two countries will meet from time to time to work out the necessary details.

(4) In order to initiate the process of the establishment of durable peace, both Governments agree that:

(i) Indian and Pakistani forces shall be withdrawn to their side of the international border;

(ii) In Jammu and Kashmir, the line of control resulting from the cease-fire of December 17, 1971 shall be respected by both sides without prejudice to the recognized position of either side. Neither side shall seek to alter it unilaterally, irrespective of mutual differences and legal interpretations. Both sides further undertake to refrain from the threat of the use of force in violation of this line;

(iii) The withdrawals shall commence upon entry into force of this Agreement and shall be completed within a period of thirty days thereof.

(5) This Agreement will be subject to ratification by both countries in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures, and will come into force with effect from the date on which the Instruments of Ratification are exchanged.

(6) Both Governments agree that their respective Heads will meet again at a mutually convenient time in the future and that, in the meanwhile, the representatives of the two sides will meet to discuss further the modalities and arrangements for the establishment of a durable peace and normalization of relations, including the questions of repatriation of prisoners of war and civilian internees, a final settlement of Jammu and Kashmir and the resumption of diplomatic relations.

Sd/-

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

President

Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Sd/-

Indira Gandhi

Prime Minister

Republic of India

WHAT BHUTTO WROTE ABOUT SIMLA CONFERENCE

In his diary (Notes from Death Cell) Bhutto referred to the horrors of war and said:

After the retreat of Yahya Khan, I had to face an enormous difficulty; a dam seemed to have burst, hitting hard Pakistan’s economy. The strain on modest family budgets was the severest. Wage earners were the worst affected by the standstill of industry and business. There was confusion; our instability had become an open secret; the people were restive as they felt that they lacked efficient administrative and political machinery at the center to guide the country properly. A huge responsibility fell upon my shoulders. I had to reorganize the governmental machinery to implement a new programme for the restoration of peace on the political plane and progress on the economic front.

After the end of the 14-day war between the two countries in December 1971, I became eager to see friends in and around the country. Negotiations between Pakistan and India were launched. I proceeded to Shimla for talks with the Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. Discussions took place between the two sides. Delight was followed by disappointment and optimism by pessimism during the first two rounds of talks. I found Mrs. Gandhi and her advisers quite rigid on the Kashmir question: they did not want to accord priority to aspects of this question referred to by me. I was also adamant about not permitting distortion of the facts of history and geography.

One day Mrs. Gandhi and I discussed the question in the absence of advisers from the two countries. I found her under constant pressure from her advisers not to yield. I did not require advisers not to yield. I did not require advice from my associates, for I was determined to find a place for the Kashmir dispute in the discussions. That day I found that the Indian Prime Minister was not comfortable; she was engrossed in thought and gave the impression that her tongue did not relish the taste of the hot tea in her cup. There was a deadlock; the talks could not make satisfactory progress.

I was not happy; I felt disturbed by the small progress made during the talks. I was alone in my room that night when D.P. Dhar, a member of the Indian delegation, knocked and had an unscheduled meeting with me. The meeting lasted about half an hour. We discussed alternatives to end the deadlock. My emphasis was on the need to include the Kashmir question in the talks.

The next day I found Mrs. Gandhi relaxed, although two of her advisers looked slightly ruffled. Then a meeting between her and me took place on the question of bringing about normalization of relations between Pakistan and India. Adjustment of behavior ultimately resulted in the announcement of the Shimla agreement (July 2, 1972). Happily for Pakistan and the people of Kashmir, India accepted, once again, the existence of the Kashmir dispute.

Lecture by M P Ajithkumar “Secret of Simla Agreement” (35 years after the Simla Agreement)