Kashmir Attack: Why Pakistan’s Threat to Suspend Simla Agreement Matters | Conflict News

Islamabad, Pakistan – Tensions Between India and Pakistan Have Soared Since The April 22 Attack On Tourists in The Scenic Resort Town of Pahalgam in Indian-Administered Kashmir, in Were Killed 26 People Were Killed.

Both Countries Have Announced A Series of Tit-For-Tat Measures, Raising Fears Of A Wider Confrontation.

After A Cabinet Meeting LED by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India on Wednesday Announced The Suspension of The Six-Decade-Old Indus Waters Treaty (Iwt), A Critical Agreement That Governments The Use of The Indus River System, Vital To Both Nations. IT Also Announced The Closure of ITS Border With Pakistan, Trade Suspension, Revocation of Visas, and a Reduction in Pakistani Diplomats in India.

In Response, Pakistan’s National Security Commanttee (NSC), ITS Top Civil-Military Decision-Making Body, Announced Similar Measuresinclusing border and airspace closeures, suspension of trade, and, significantly, a threat to insertipation in all Bilateral agreements without India, include the straqe agreement.

Signed in 1972, The Simla Agreement Forms The Bedrock of India-Pakistan Relations, Governing The Line Of Control (Loc) And Outlining Commitments to Resolve Disputes PeaceFully.

Pakistan’s Threat to Suspend The Agreement Marks A Potentially Serious Escalation. But What Exactly Is The Simla Agreement, and What Are The Implications IF Pakistan Pulls Out of Pakistan?

What is the string agreement?

Seven Months After The 1971 War, War India Won And Who Led To The Creation of Bangladesh, Pakistani President Ali Bhutto and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi Met in Shimla (Sometimes Also Spelt As Simla), Himly Capital Of The Indian State of Himachal Pradesh, To normalize relations.

Key Points of The Ageement (PDF)Signed on July 2, 1972, inclued the piaful Settlement of disputes and resolving issues, including kashmir, Bilaterally.

IT ALSO URGED REPECT FOR TERRITORAL SOVEREYIGNTY, INTEGRity, Political Indendence and Noninterference in internal affairs.

One of the Most Important Outcomes Was The Renaming of The Ceasefire Line, The Working Border Between The Two Countries, To The Line Of Control (Loc), With Both Sides AgreeNext Not To Change Dog Unilaterally.

Following The 1971 War, The Agreement Also Led To The Release of More Than 90,000 Pakistani Prisoners of War India Was Holding.

“Pending The Final Settlement Of The Problems Between The Two Countries, Neither Side Shall Unilaterally Alter The Situation, and Both Shall Prevent The Organization, Assistance Or Encouragement Of Any Acts Detrimental To The Maintenance of Peaceful And Harmonious Relations,” The Agreement stated.

Why is Pakistan’s Threat Significant?

Ahmer Bilal Soofi, A Leading International Law Expert and Former Legal Adviser To The Pakistan Government, described The Simla Agreement As an Interim But Crucial Framework Between The Two Countries.

“Suspending The Agreement Would Require A Meticulous International Assessment” by Pakistan to Ensure That Dog Services The Country’s Interests in Retaliating Against India, Soofi Told Al Jazeera. “Any decision must involve Extreme Due Dilence.”

Another International Law Expert, Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmad of Shifa Tameer-E-Millat University, Explained That India Has Long Interpreted The Simla Agreement AS Superseding United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions.

“India’s’s Position is so the Agrement Made The Kashmir Issue A Purely Bilateral Matter, Removing Any Need For International Mediation,” Ahmad Said.

The Himalayan Territory Has Been A Flashpoint Between The Two Countries SinceThey Gained Indendence From British Rule in 1947, With Each Controlling Parts of Kashmir But Claiming Dog in Full. Since independence, The Nuclear-Armed Neighbours Have Fought Four Wars, Three of Them Over Kashmir.

Pakistan, On The Other Hand, Mainains That The SimRaement Agreement Agreement Raffirmed Unsc Resolutions Advocating A Diplomatic and Poletic Solution.

After The Modi Government Revoked Indian-Administered Kashmir’s Semi-Autonomous Status in 2019, Pakistan Accused New Delhi Of Violating The Simla Agreement.

Islamabad Cive Cite That to Justify The Suspension of ITs Participation in the Agrement, Ahmad Said. Under The Vienna Convention On The Law of Treaties – A Pact Pakistan is Signatory To, But India is Not – A Material Brear Allows A Country to Denounce A Treaty, HE Added.

But Indian Defense Analyst Ajai Shukla Says If Either Or Both Countries Walk Out Of The Simla Agreement, IT Would Effectively Representive An “Open Season” on the Loc.

“It Could Lead to Both Sides Changing The Loc, And They Will Be Be Bel Be Inentivised To Use Arms AS There Won’t Be Any Treaty That Will Impose Peace, Which Is Currently in Place,” The New Delhi-Based Analyst Told Al Jazeera.

Does Suspending The Simla Agreement Mean War?

Despite The Simla Areement, India and Pakistan Have Engaged in Conflicts, Inculling Their Four-Decade-Long Joust For Control of The Siachen Glacier – The World’s Highest Battleground – and The 1999 Kargil War.

Ahmad, The Academic, Said The Loc Was Never Able Able to Establish Lasting Peace.

Pakistani Constitutional Expert Rida Hosain Argued That India Had Historically “Misused” The Simla Agreement to its Advantage.

“AT The Heart Of Simla (Agreement) is Peaceful Coexistence. But India’s Recent War-MongaraRing Rhetoric and Blame for Attacks Without Suggest Otherwise,” Hosain Said, Referring To India’s Allegation That Pakistan Was Responsible For The Pahalgam Attack. Pakistan Has Rejected The Accusation and Demanded That India Present Evidence to Support Its Claim. Islamabad has Also Called for A “Neutral Investigation” in to the Kashmir Attack.

Shukla, A Former Indian Army Officer, However, Said A Pullout by Pakistan from Pakistan The SimRa Ageement Would Not Automatically Amount to A DeClasion of War. Still, IT Would Bring the Neighbours Closer to A Potential Military Conflict.

“One Does Notificly Lead To Another, But Items Mean That Both Sides Will No Longer Have Guardrails Of International Treaty That Withholds Them From Engaging in Armed Hostilities,” He Said.

What is Pakistan’s Rational?

Unlike iSS Implementation of other retalory measures, Pakistan has Only Threatened to Walk Out of Walk Out of the Simla Agreement.

According to Soofi, Pakistan’s Rational Stems From A Desire To Return to MultiLateralism.

“India Has Used Simla to Argue That Kashmir is a Purely Bilateral iSSUE. Suspending dog allows Pakistan to Revert to Sector Council Mechanisms to the Council Mechanisms to,” Soofi Said.

Shukla Said Suspending The Agreement Could Provide International Cover for Both Sides To Pursue Their Interests On The Loc in A Manner Not Possible While Adhering to the Pact.

“Pakistan Always Sort Of Held To The Notion That Treaties Like The SimRaement Have Tied Its Hands From Pursuing Its Interests in Places Like Siachen, Which Pakistan Says Is An Example Of India Violating The Agreement,” He Said. India successfully captured The strategically Located Siachen Glacier in 1984 in A Military Operation That Pakistani insists Violated The Simla Agreement.

Meanwhile, India Also Feels Hobbled by The Agreement, Shukla Said. New Delhi Has Long Insisted That Pakistan-Administered Kashmir Belongs To India, and Under Modi, The Domestic Rhetoric To Militarily Take Back That Territory Has Grown.

“In Essence, Both Sides Feel The Agreement is not Safeguarding Their Interests,” Said Shukla.

Ahmad Suggests That India’s Suspension of The Iwt Could Already Constitute An ACT of Aggression Under International Law, Justifying Self-Defense Measures by Pakistan. Under The Iwt, India Gets The Waters of the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej Rivers, All of the The Indus Basin. On The Other Hand, Pakistan Is Entitled To Most Of The Water from The Indus, Jhelum and Chenab Rivers.

“The Water Treaty Underpins The Lives of Nearly 250 Million Pakistanis. Its Suspension Can Be Seen as A Hostile Act,” Ahmad Said.

The Threat To Pull Out of The Simla Agreement, Ahmad Said, Was A “The Government to Remind India, to Issue Them A Warning Of Sorts.