1 week Ago By Tahir Niaz
ISLAMABAD - Relations between Pakistan and India have always been uncertain, with ties between the two now nuclear-armed neighbours forming and breaking, a process that continues to this day. In the post-Pahalgam developments, India, as usual, held Pakistan responsible for its security lapses and administrative failures and started levelling accusations against Pakistan, suspending the Indus Waters Treaty. This is not the first time that India suspended or violated bilateral pacts.
There has been a long history of India twisting the agreements in his favour and trying to build a narrative to undermine Pakistan’s sovereignty. LIAQUAT-NEHRU PACT This agreement was reached in April 1950 during a meeting in New Delhi between the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistani Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan. According to this agreement, both countries and their governments are bound to protect the interests of minorities in their respective territories.
Pakistan rallies diplomatic support of key allies According to the agreement, both governments will be accountable to each other on the issue of protecting the rights of minorities. The provisions of the agreement included freedom of movement, non-discrimination in employment, and the establishment of a Minority Commission to ensure the implementation of the agreement. This agreement was signed after the partition of India when communal riots had broken out in both countries.
However, the situation pertaining to minorities rights in India is pathetic. Muslims, especially, are subjected to discrimination and torture under different pretexts. India seems little bothered about the provisions of the pact.
INDUS WATERS TREATY The agreement was signed between the two countries on September 19, 1960, to fairly distribute the waters of the Indus River and other rivers, with the World Bank acting as a mediator. The then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the then Pakistani President Ayub Khan had signed this agreement after lengthy discussions. 54 terrorists killed while trying to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan Under the agreement, the Western Rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab) were given to Pakistan, while the Eastern Rivers (Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej) were handed over to India.
The treaty also mentioned arrangements for the construction and financing of dams, link canals, and water reservoirs such as Tarbela and Mangla. The agreement also mandated the establishment of a permanent Indus Water Commission headed by a Commissioner from each country, while disputes arising from time to time were resolved peacefully through this commission. This agreement has been in force for nearly 65 years, which India unilaterally announced to suspend after the Pahalgam incident.
The reasons for the suspension of the treaty given by India are pathetic as it links purely a security issue with the treaty on water. The Pakistani government has though presented a strong stance that this agreement cannot be unilaterally suspended. SHIMLA AGREEMENT Pakistan agrees to enter crypto world This agreement was reached between Pakistan and India after the 1971 war and was signed by former Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and India’s Indira Gandhi.
The agreement stipulated that neither party would take unilateral action, but all disputes would be resolved bilaterally, and the ceasefire line would be converted into the Line of Control. Regarding Kashmir, the agreement stated that the fundamental issues and disputes that have caused tension in the bilateral relations for the past 25 years will be resolved through peaceful means. In addition, both countries agreed to discuss mechanism for lasting peace and the restoration of normal relations.
India violated the Shimla Agreement too in 2019 when it unilaterally revoked Article 370, which eliminated the special status of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. This change allowed outsiders to live and buy property in Kashmir, which has been described as an attempt to turn the Muslim-majority population of the valley into a minority which is a clear violation of the Shimla Agreement. RAW agents behind attack on London HC: Tarar The Modi government has now gone a step further and rejected the concept of bilateral talks.
That led to the cancellation of foreign secretaries’ talks in 2014 on a flimsy pretext. AGREEMENT ON RELIGIOUS PILGRIMAGES This bilateral agreement was reached in 1974 and aimed at facilitating pilgrims from Pakistan and India to visit religious sites in each other’s countries. The agreement covers 15 sites in Pakistan and 5 sites in India.
In Pakistan, these include Shadani Darbar (Hayat Pitafi, Sindh), Katas Raj Dham (Chakwal), Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, and Gurdwara Panja Sahib. Similarly, in India, the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (Ajmer Sharif), the shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya, and the shrine of Amir Khusro are notable. Under this agreement, 3000 Sikh pilgrims from India are allowed to visit Pakistan on every religious festival.
However, this year the Pakistani government issued a record 6,751 visas to Indian pilgrims. Iran’s president visits site of port blast as death toll swells to 28 In contrast, India issued visas to only 100 Pakistani pilgrims this year for the Urs of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer Sharif, which is less than the allocated quota of 500. NON-NUCLEAR AGGRESSION AGREEMENT The non-nuclear aggression agreement is a bilateral and nuclear weapons control treaty between India and Pakistan.
Under the agreement, both nuclear-armed nations had pledged not to attack or assist foreign powers to attack on each other’s nuclear installations and facilities. The treaty was drafted in 1988, and signed by Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her Indian counterpart Rajiv Gandhi on 21 December 1988. However, it entered into force in January 1991.
According to the provisions of the agreement, both countries will provide information about their nuclear installations and facilities every year on January 1. Since the nations agreed to the pact, both countries have been exchanging nuclear information every year. AGREEMENT ON AIRSPACE Signed in New Delhi on April 6, 1991, this agreement aimed to reduce the risk of accidental or unintentional airspace violations between the two neighbouring countries.
The agreement stipulated that military aircraft of both countries would not fly within 10 kilometers of each other’s airspace, which includes the Air Defense Identification Zone. This is a specific airspace where aircraft must be identified for national security purposes. According to the agreement, no aircraft from either country can enter the airspace of the other country over its territorial waters without prior permission.
This agreement has generally been respected. In response to India’s aggressive actions after the Pulwama attack, Pakistan immediately announced the closure of its airspace to India. LAHORE AGREEMENT Former Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Atal Bihari Vajpayee signed this agreement in February 1999 during the latter’s visit to Pakistan.
In this agreement, India and Pakistan recognized that an environment of peace and security is in the highest national interest of both countries and for this purpose, the resolution of all outstanding issues, including the Kashmir issue, is essential. Both countries also agreed to intensify their efforts to resolve all issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, by accelerating their comprehensive and integrated dialogue process. However, India has been avoiding direct talks with Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir in clear negation of the Lahore Agreement.
AGREEMENT ON PRIOR NOTIFICATION OF MISSILE TESTS This agreement between Pakistan and India was reached in 2005, stipulating that both countries would report at least 3 days before testing any surface-to-surface ballistic missile on land or sea. The agreement states that each party will ensure that the missile test site is at least 40 kilometers from the international border or Line of Control and the expected landing site of the missile is not closer than 75 kilometers. This agreement is still in force, but last year India did not fully comply with the agreement when it tested a missile capable of carrying multiple warheads.
AGREEMENT ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS This agreement on nuclear accidents came into effect on February 21, 2007, for a period of 5 years. Under this agreement, both countries pledged to improve the safety and security of their nuclear weapons and to immediately inform each other of any nuclear accident. The agreement stated that measures would be taken to minimize the radioactive effects of such an accident.
Furthermore, both countries are obligated to take measures in the event of a nuclear accident that prevents the other country from misinterpreting their actions. This agreement was extended for another 5 years in 2012 and again in 2017. CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT ON THE LINE OF CONTROL In November 2003, Pakistan and India agreed to a ceasefire along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary.
The LoC is a border line that divides Kashmir between the two countries, while the Working Boundary separates other areas between Pakistan and India. This agreement was effective for a few years but after 2008, India repeatedly violated it, especially after 2014 when Narendra Modi came into power. Tags: india a trail breaching.
