India-Pakistan relations: A history of agreements and treaties-OxBig News Network

India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan on Wednesday, along with other measures such as cancelling visas of Pakistani nationals traveling to India under SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme and declaring diplomats and defence advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi “persona non grata”.

This move followed the terrorist attack on innocent civilians in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. In response, Pakistan announced the suspension of the 1972 Simla Agreement, a significant peace treaty signed between India and Pakistan after the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. Islamabad stated, “If the flow of water owned by Pakistan is blocked or diverted, it will be deemed a declaration of war.”

Agreements, pacts, treaties

According to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, a treaty is “an international agreement concluded between states in written form and governed by international law, whether embodied in a single instrument or in two or more related instruments and whatever its particular designation”.

The rules concerning treaties between states are contained in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969), and those between states and international organisations appear in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties Between States and International Organisations or Between International Organisations (1986).

The term “treaty” is used generically to describe a variety of instruments, such as conventions, agreements, arrangements, protocols, covenants, charters, and acts. However, not all these instruments qualify as treaties in the strict sense. The key distinguishing feature of a treaty is that it is binding. For example, whereas the United Nations (UN) Charter (1945) created a binding agreement and is thus a treaty, the Charter of Paris (1990), which established the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (formerly the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe), is not a binding document as such and thus is not officially a treaty.

Treaties are expected to be executed in good faith, in keeping with the principle of pacta sunt servanda (Latin: “agreements must be kept”), arguably one of the oldest and most fundamental principles of international law. Without this principle, which is explicitly mentioned in many agreements, treaties would be neither binding nor enforceable.

Treaties between India and Pakistan

Since the Partition in 1947, India and Pakistan have signed several agreements and treaties aimed at avoiding conflicts and maintaining peace, but without much success, few have yielded the desired results.

Karachi Agreement (1949)

It was signed by the military representatives of India and Pakistan under the supervision of the United Nations Commission for establishing a cease-fire line in Kashmir following the India-Pakistani War of 1947-48 (the first Kashmir war).

Liaquat-Nehru Pact (1950)

Also known as the Delhi Pact was signed to  provide a framework for the treatment of minorities. The bilateral treaty aimed to guarantee the rights of minorities in the two neighbouring countries after the Partition and avert another war between them. It was signed in New Delhi by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan on April 8, 1950.

Indus Waters Treaty (1960)

A water-distribution treaty negotiated by the World Bank for the waters of the Indus river and its tributaries. It was signed in Karachi by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan President Ayub Khan on September 19, 1960, after almost a decade of negotiations.

The treaty has always been a significant agreement given the value of the finite, non-substitutable natural resource, more so in the current scenario of climate change and global warming. According to the agreement, waters of the “eastern rivers” of the Indus system – Sutlej, Beas and Ravi — will be available for the “unrestricted use” of India.  Pakistan will get water from the “western rivers” — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab.

Tashkent Declaration (1965)

It was signed by Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistan President Muhammad Ayub Khan in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to end the India-Pakistan war of 1965.

Simla Agreement (1972)

It was a significant peace treaty signed between the two countries after the 1971 India-Pakistan war on July 2, 1972. The 1971 war was triggered when India intervened in the fight for independence in east Pakistan that led to the formation of Bangladesh. The treaty between Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistan president Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto aimed to end hostilities and lay down a comprehensive plan for peaceful relations.

As per the agreement, both India and Pakistan had to take measures to not violate the Line of Control (LoC). The ceasefire line that existed after the 1971 war was transformed into LoC.

The countries committed to settle differences through peaceful negotiations. However, the agreement did not help much, examples being the Kargil War (1999), and the Siachen conflict, which continues till date.

Non-Nuclear Aggression Agreement (1988)

The agreement on the reduction (or limitation) of nuclear arms signed between Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Pakistan PM Benazir Bhutto. The treaty barred signatories to carry out a surprise attack (or to assist foreign power to attack) on each other’s nuclear installations and facilities

Lahore Declaration (1999)

It was signed amid global concerns over nuclear tests conducted by the two countries in 1998, given their historical tensions. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee travelled to Pakistan in February 1999 to sign the Declaration with Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif, under which a mutual understanding was reached on restraining the development of atomic arsenals and avoiding accidental and unauthorised operational use of nuclear weapons.