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29-04-2025
ISLAMABAD: 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 which at least 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 governs 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 Committee (NSC), its top civil-military decision-making body, announced similar measures, including border and airspace closures, suspension of trade, and, significantly, a threat to suspend its participation in all bilateral agreements with India, including the Simla 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 it?
What is the Simla Agreement?
Seven months after the 1971 war, which India won and which led to the creation of Bangladesh, Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi met in Shimla (sometimes also spelt as Simla), the hilly capital of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, to normalise relations.
Key points of the agreement, signed on July 2, 1972; included the peaceful settlement of disputes and resolving issues, including Kashmir, bilaterally.
It also urged respect for territorial sovereignty, integrity, political independence 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 agreeing not to change it 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 any of the problems between the two countries, neither side shall unilaterally alter the situation, nor 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 internal assessment” by Pakistan to ensure that it serves the country’s interests in retaliating against India, Soofi told media. “Any decision must involve extreme due diligence.”
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.
