Simla Agreement

The Simla Agreement, also spelled Shimla Agreement, was a peace treaty signed between India and Pakistan on 2 July 1972 in Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh.<ref name=MEA_site>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It followed the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which began after India intervened in East Pakistan as an ally of Mukti Bahini who were fighting against Pakistani state forces in the Bangladesh Liberation War.<ref name=ZEE>Template:Cite news</ref>

The treaty's official purpose was stated to serve as a way for both countries to "put an end to the conflict and confrontation that have hitherto marred their relations" and to conceive the steps to be taken for further normalization of India–Pakistan relations while also laying down the principles that should govern their future interactions.<ref name=Dawn>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=IBN_40>Template:Cite news</ref>

The treaty gave back more than 13,000 km² of land that the Indian Army had seized in Pakistan during the war and Pakistan also give back land that was captured during the war,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> though India retained a few strategic areas, including Turtuk, Dhothang, Tyakshi (earlier called Tiaqsi) and Chalunka of Chorbat Valley,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which was more than 883 km².<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Meanwhile, Pakistan retained Chumb City.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2025, Pakistan suspended the Agreement in response to India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, after Pakistan's alleged involvement in 2025 Pahalgam massacre.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Details

The treaty was signed in 1972 in Simla (also spelt "Shimla") in India by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the President of Pakistan, and Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India.<ref name=Dawn/> The agreement also paved the way for diplomatic recognition of Bangladesh by Pakistan. Technically, the document was signed at 0040 hours in the night of 3 July; despite this official documents are dated 2 July 1972.<ref name=Dawn/><ref name=IBN_40 /><ref name=KSG>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some of the major outcomes of the Simla Agreement are:

• Both countries will "settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations".<ref name=Dawn/><ref name=MEA_site /><ref name=Pradhanmantri>Template:Cite episode</ref> India has, many a times, maintained that Kashmir dispute is a bilateral issue and must be settled through bilateral negotiations as per Simla Agreement, 1972 and thus, had denied any third party intervention even that of United Nations.<ref name=IE>Template:Cite news</ref>
• The agreement converted the cease-fire line of 17 December 1971 into the Line of Control (LOC) between India and Pakistan and it was agreed that "neither side shall seek to alter it unilaterally, irrespective of mutual differences and legal interpretations".<ref name=Dawn/><ref name=MEA_site /><ref name=KSG /> Many Indian bureaucrats have later argued that a tacit agreement, to convert this LOC into international border, was reached during a one-on-one meeting between the two heads of government. Pakistani bureaucrats have denied any such thing.<ref name=IBN_40/><ref name=KSG/> This identification of a new "cease-fire line" by both the states has been argued by India as making United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan insignificant. As according to India, the purpose of UNMOGIP was to monitor the cease-fire line as identified in Karachi agreement of 1949 which no longer exists. Pakistan has a different take on this issue and both countries still host the UN mission.<ref name=IE/>

The agreement has not prevented the relationship between the two countries from deteriorating to the point of armed conflict, most recently in the Kargil War of 1999. In Operation Meghdoot of 1984 India seized all of the inhospitable Siachen Glacier region where the frontier had been clearly not defined in the agreement (possibly as the area was thought too barren to be controversial); this was considered as a violation of the Simla Agreement by Pakistan. Most of the subsequent deaths in the Siachen Conflict have been from natural disasters, e.g. avalanches in 2010, 2012, and 2016.

Main Clauses of the Agreement

Simla Agreement on Bilateral Relations between India and Pakistan signed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and President of Pakistan, Z. A. Bhutto, in Simla on 2 July 1972.

Delhi Agreement

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The Delhi Agreement on the Repatriation of War and Civilian Internees is a tripartite agreement among the aforementioned states, signed on 28 August 1973. The agreement was signed by Kamal Hossain, the Foreign Minister of the Government of Bangladesh, Sardar Swaran Singh, Minister of External Affairs of India and Aziz Ahmed, the Minister of State for Defense and Foreign Affairs of the Government of Pakistan.<ref name="CuttsRefugees2000">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Singh2009">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Delhi_agreement1974">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Suspension of the Agreement

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Following the rising tensions between India and Pakistan after the 2025 Pahalgam attack, India suspended the decades-old Indus Water treaty. Pakistan, in turn, suspended the Simla Agreement on 24 April 2025 along with the suspension, trade with India has been suspended, and land and air routes closed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

• Official Document of Simla Agreement