AS a result of the war in 1971, the Simla Agreement was signed in 1972 between Pakistan and India; the signatories being Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Indira Gandhi. The agreement, inter alia, stipulated that either party will not take any action unilaterally, that the disputes between the two countries will be resolved bilaterally, and that the ceasefire line (CFL) would become the Line of Control (LoC).

Bilateral talks and confidence-building measures (CBMs) over the years have resulted in wasting about five decades without any outcome due to the rigid and uncompromising attitude of India which has never been serious in negotiations and wanted to gain time by employing delaying tactics which is against the spirit of the Simla Agreement.

On Aug 5, 2019, India abrogated Articles 35A and 370 of its Constitution which had given special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This enabled the outsiders to obtain domicile and purchase property in Kashmir with a view to changing the Muslim-majority demography of the valley. This, again, is in flagrant violation of the Simla Agreement. Pakistan has taken the correct and justified stand that no talks can be held with India unless Articles 35A and 370 are restored.

The decision-makers should actively consider the possibility of telling India explicitly that if the said Articles were not restored within a specific time limit, Pakistan will leave the Simla Agreement. In fact, the agreement died the day India took the unilateral action.

The departure from the Simla Agreement will have certain implications; Firstly, Pakistan will be no more bound by the bilateralism clause and there will be no bar on third-party intervention and mediation on Kashmir. Secondly, the LoC will automatically be re-designated as CFL which will give a boost to the freedom movement within Kashmir as there is no international law that bars the crossing of a ceasefire line. The people of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir would be able to cross over to help the oppressed people of occupied Kashmir.

Lt-Col (retd) Syed Iftikhar Ahmed
Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2021