Suspension of the 1972 Simla Agreement implies that Pakistan is going to up the ante on Kashmir, making all-out efforts to internationalise a largely dormant issue, says a former diplomat and leading expert.
“How can a country suspend a bilateral agreement signed years ago between two countries,” questioned Gopalaswami Parthasarathy, former Indian envoy to Pakistan.
Pahalgam Terror Attack LIVE
Of course, Islamabad is well within its rights to disregard a formal treaty, which was signed by the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in a fit of generosity, Parthasarathy told this reporter.
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In his view, there is a clause in the Shimla Agreement which agrees to settle all disputes between India and Pakistan by bilateral discussions. “Once that agreement was inked, one thing became very clear. The border cannot be changed,’’ Parthasarathy, who served as the High Commissioner of India to Pakistan between 1999 and 2000 in the crucial Kargil War years, said.
India’s retaliatory measures
A day after India’s strong retaliatory measures following the Pahalgam terror attack, which included a downgrading of diplomatic ties, Pakistan on Thursday announced the suspension of the Simla Agreement and all bilateral agreements with India.
This was among the several other measures announced by Islamabad, which included blocking its airspace for Indian airlines, closing the Wagah border crossing, and suspending all trade with India. It has also revoked all visas issued to Indian nationals under the SAARC visa exemption scheme.
India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the terror attack.
Also Read: Pakistan suspends ‘all trade’ with India, closes airspace after New Delhi’s measures over Pahalgam terror attack
The Simla Agreement, officially titled the “Agreement on Bilateral Relations between the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan,” was signed on July 2, 1972, in Simla. This landmark accord was the direct outcome of the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, a conflict that resulted in a decisive Indian victory and the creation of an independent Bangladesh.
According to Parthasarathy, “the crucial question to ask is this: if the Simla Accord goes, what comes in its place? If Pakistan attempts to take Kashmir to the UN, as it well might, it would be important to remember that the Simla Agreement supersedes the UN resolution on Kashmir.”
Asked if internal developments in India – like the passing of the Waqf Act – could have prompted this hardening of attitude in Pakistan, leading to the brutal massacre of tourists in Pahalgam, Parthasarathy said that “internal developments in India are not open for discussions in international fora and should not concern Islamabad”.
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