Shimla Agreement, the treatise on peace between India and Pakistan
United States President Donald Trump's recent statement on a plausible mediation in the Kashmir dispute -- between India and Pakistan -- has shed, yet again, light on the 1972 Shimla Agreement.
The Opposition staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha on Wednesday -- after a furore the previous day in both Houses of the Parliament -- over Trump's Kashmir claim.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have already refuted the occurrence of a discussion, wherein Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Trump to intervene in the Kashmir matter.
The two ministers invoked the 1972 Shimla Agreement and said the bilateral issues can only be resolved with its help -- and nothing else.
But what is this said Shimla Agreement?
We shed more light.
THE 1972 SHIMLA AGREEMENT
On July 2, 1972, former prime minister Indira Gandhi signed the Shimla Agreement with the then Pakistan prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
The agreement was mutually agreed upon and signed in the aftermath of the 1971 Indo-Pak war after which East Pakistan was liberated, leading to the formation of Bangladesh.
The Shimla Agreement was signed in order to enable good, and neighbourly, relations between India and Pakistan; giving up conflicts and focussing on the establishment of long-lasting friendship, peace and cooperation between them.
KEY PRINCIPLES
The agreement emphasises upon respect for each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence, and unity. It also mentions non-interference in each other's internal affairs and discarding of hostile propaganda.
It was signed with the promise of mutual commitment to resolve all peace-related issues through DIRECT BILATERAL APPROACH.
The Shimla Agreement was signed to build the foundation of a cooperative relationship with a focus on people-to-people contact.
It also calls for respecting the borders and inviolability of Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
MAIN FEATURES
Under this agreement, the two nations, India and Pakistan, had agreed to refrain from threats and force in violation of Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
India and Pakistan back then agreed to respect the LoC without any prejudice to the recognised position of either side and neither of the two would seek to alter it unilaterally, irrespective of mutual differences and legal interpretations.
India and Pakistan premiers also agreed that the relation between the two countries would be governed by the principles of the United Nations Charter and that they would resolve their differences by peaceful and bilateral means.
The neighbouring countries also resolved to put an end to conflicts and promote a friendly and harmonious relationship -- to establish durable peace in the subcontinent.
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