Simla Agreement

This article is about the 1972 India-Pakistan peace treaty. For the 1945 Indian self-government meeting, see Simla Conference. For the 1914 Tibetan-British-Chinese convention, see Simla Convention. For the 1906 deputation of Indian Muslim leaders for greater political representation, see Simla Deputation.

Simla or Shimla Agreement
Agreement on Bilateral Relations Between The Government of India and The Government of Pakistan[1]
TypePeace treaty
ContextIndo-Pakistani War of 1971
Drafted28 June 1972
Signed2 July 1972; 52 years ago (1972-07-02)
LocationBarnes Court (Raj Bhavan),[2] Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
Sealed7 August 1972
Ratified15 July 1972 (by Pakistan)
3 August 1972 (by India)
Effective4 August 1972
ConditionRatification by both parties
Negotiators
Signatories
Parties
Ratifiers
Languages
Pakistan ranger stands near the flags of India and Pakistan at zero line international border

The Simla Agreement, also spelled Shimla Agreement, was a peace treaty signed between India and Pakistan on 2 July 1972 in Shimla, the capital city of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.[3] It followed the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which began after India intervened in East Pakistan as an ally of Bengali rebels who were fighting against Pakistani state forces in the Bangladesh Liberation War.[4] The Indian intervention proved decisive in the war and led to East Pakistan's breakaway from its union with West Pakistan and the emergence of the independent state of Bangladesh.

The treaty's official purpose was stated to serve as a way for both countries to "put an end to the conflict and confrontation that have hitherto marred their relations" and to conceive the steps to be taken for further normalization of India–Pakistan relations while also laying down the principles that should govern their future interactions.[5][6][4]

The treaty also gave back more than 13,000 km2 of land that the Indian Army had seized in Pakistan during the war, though India retained a few strategic areas, including Turtuk, Dhothang, Tyakshi (earlier called Tiaqsi) and Chalunka of Chorbat Valley,[7][8] which was more than 883 km2.[9][10][11]

  1. ^ "Public Diplomacy – Simla Agreement July 2, 1972". Ministry of External Affairs (Government of India). 24 July 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. ^ "History of Raj Bhavan Building (Barnes Court) Emergence of an Edifice". Government of India. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Simla Agreement". Bilateral/Multilateral Documents. Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b Tanweer Azam (23 July 2019). "What is Shimla Agreement". Zee News. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  5. ^ "A leaf from history: Simla Agreement, at last". Dawn (newspaper). 23 September 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Indo-Pak Shimla Agreement: 40 years later". IBN Live. 2 July 2012. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Turtuk, a Promised Land Between Two Hostile Neighbours". The Wire. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  8. ^ Rajrishi Singhal, qz com. "An encounter with the 'king' of Turtuk, a border village near Gilgit-Baltistan". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  9. ^ "A portrait of a village on the border". 10 August 2017. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Have you heard about this Indian Hero?". Rediff.com. 22 December 2011. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  11. ^ "The Simla Agreement 1972". Story of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2009.