Pahalgam terror attack: What is Simla Agreement that Pakistan threatened to withdraw amid rising tensions with India?

Pakistan reacted to India’s stern measures announced following the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, calling it an “Act of War”. In a statement on Thursday (Apr 24), Pakistan has announced that it shall exercise the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India, including but not limited to the Simla Agreement, in abeyance.

This comes a day after India announced that it will halt the Indus Waters Treaty following the horrific terror attack carried out by the Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the banned Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), that killed at least 27. India has also given a deadline to Pakistani nationals holding SAARC visas and has announced the immediate closure of the Attari check post.

The bilateral Simla Agreement was signed by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistan’s Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on July 2, 1972. The agreement was the aftermath of the 1971 war, in which Pakistan was defeated, leading to the creation of Bangladesh.

The Simla Agreement, which comprises just six paragraphs, aimed to bring an end to the long-standing conflict between India and Pakistan and normalise the relations.

The agreement states that the governments of India and Pakistan are “resolved that the two countries put an end to the conflict and confrontation that have hitherto marred their relations.”

It added that the two nations will “work for the promotion of a friendly and harmonious relationship and the establishment of durable peace in the sub-continent.”

According to the agreement, India and Pakistan are “resolved to settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations or by any other peaceful means mutually agreed upon between them.”

It further mandates that the security forces from both countries “shall be withdrawn to their side of the international border” and no party shall seek to change the status of the Line of Control (LoC) unilaterally.

In 1999, Pakistan violated the Simla Agreement, which resulted in the Kargil War. Pakistani soldiers crossed the border into the Indian territory and occupied strategic positions of the Indian side of the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, following which Operation Vijay was launched by India in retaliation. In addition to this, Pakistan has repeatedly violated the ceasefire along the LoC.