No formal decision taken on abrogation of any bilateral agreement with India: FO

Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan on Thursday said that no formal decision had been taken so far to abrogate any bilateral agreement with India in the wake of Defence Minister Khawaja Asif saying that the Simla Agreement was now inapplicable.

“No formal decision on abrogation of any bilateral agreement with India has so far been made,” the FO spokesperson told Dawn.com.

Talking to Geo News earlier today, Asif, regarding India holding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance after the further deterioration in relations between the two countries following the April 22 Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir, said that the agreement had no room for any party to withdraw from it unilaterally.

He said all decisions about the agreement could be taken with the joint agreement of both parties.

“If this is the case and India has begun this [attitude] then the Simla Agreement is between two parties and has no interference or patronage from the World Bank or anyone else, so the Line of Control (LoC) will revert to a ceasefire line, which was its original status as per the [UN] resolution passed at the time of the 1948 plebiscite.

“The sanctity of the Simla Agreement has been eliminated due to India’s actions,” the defence minister added, further saying that its conditions, such as for India and Pakistan to resolve issues bilaterally, were no longer applicable.

“The agreement as a whole after this episode of war has now no value.”

The agreement was signed between Pakistan and India in the aftermath of the 1971 war; the signatories being Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Indira Gandhi. The agreement, inter alia, stipulated that neither party would take any action unilaterally, that the disputes between the two countries would be resolved bilaterally, and that the ceasefire line would become the LoC.

In connection with Kashmir, it stated that “the basic issues and causes of conflict which have bedevilled the relations between the two countries for the last 25 years shall be resolved by peaceful means”. It also bound both countries to discuss the modalities and arrangements for lasting peace and normalisation.

However, Pakistan argues that India violated the Simla Accord in 2019 when it unilaterally revoked Article 370, altering the status of occupied Jammu and Kashmir. This further enabled outsiders to obtain domicile and purchase property in Kashmir to change the Muslim-majority demography of the valley, again termed as a violation of the agreement.

Following the Pahalgam attack, New Delhi, while pointing the finger at Pakistan sans proof, suspended the IWT with immediate effect, along with other measures.

In retaliation, Pakistan decided that it would exercise the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India, including but not limited to the Simla Agreement, in abeyance. It also announced the closure of the Wagah border and suspension of all trade with New Delhi, among other measures.