Islamabad (TDI): Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry clarified on Thursday that no formal decision has been made to annul any bilateral agreements with India.
This statement came a day after Defense Minister Khawaja Asif described the 1972 Simla Agreement as a “dead document.”
When asked about recent developments, a senior official from the Foreign Office said that while India’s recent actions had sparked internal discussions, Pakistan has not yet taken any official steps to terminate existing accords, including the Simla Agreement.
“At this time, no formal move has been made to end any bilateral agreements,” the official emphasized, confirming that the current treaties remain operative.
The Defense Minister’s earlier remarks had suggested a shift in Pakistan’s stance. In an interview with a private TV channel, Khawaja Asif said that the Simla Agreement had lost its validity, pointing to India’s unilateral actions as the main reason.
He said, “The Simla Agreement is now effectively defunct. We have returned to the situation of 1948, when the United Nations declared the ceasefire line, which later became the Line of Control.”
Asif argued that the framework established in 1972 had collapsed, making it necessary to explore multilateral or international forums to resolve disputes going forward.
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He referenced the Indo-Pak war of 1947-48 and the subsequent UN-brokered ceasefire to highlight how recent moves, especially India’s revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, have undermined bilateral relations.
The Defense Minister also raised questions about the status of other agreements, including the Indus Waters Treaty. “Whether or not the Indus Waters Treaty is suspended, the Simla Agreement is already over,” he said.
Warning of ongoing risks, Khawaja Asif stated, “Pakistan does not want war, but if conflict is forced upon us, our response will be stronger than before.”
The Simla Agreement, signed after the 1971 war, was designed to settle disputes peacefully and transform the ceasefire line in Kashmir into the Line of Control, with both sides committing to respect each other’s sovereignty.
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Asif’s comments come after India’s recent announcement to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty unilaterally and launch strikes inside Pakistani territory last month, heightening tensions between the nuclear neighbors.
Following India’s suspension of the treaty, Pakistani officials reported a significant drop, about 91,000 cusecs, in water flow from India into the Chenab River.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made statements implying that water resources might be used strategically against Pakistan.
Days after suspending the treaty, Modi declared that water previously allocated to Pakistan would be retained for use within India, signaling a further deterioration in relations over shared water resources.
Farkhund Yousafzai is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
