Shimla Agreement
The Shimla Agreement (also Shimla Pact or, with an older transcription, Simla ) is a treaty concluded between India and Pakistan on July 2, 1972 to regulate international relations and is still one of the most important foundations for negotiations between the two countries.
Since the two states were founded, there had been several conflicts, crises and wars between them, as well as the ongoing dispute over the Kashmiri border region . After the Bangladesh War in 1971, India and Pakistan began negotiations in order to avoid future conflicts and to create the basis for political negotiations.
In the document, both states committed themselves to the principle that their differences of opinion would be settled peacefully through bilateral negotiations. It also contains several specific regulations. So the armistice line in Kashmir of December 17, 1971 was established as the " Line of Control " and given a border-like function. The agreement was also a precondition for the diplomatic recognition of Bangladesh by Pakistan. In the course of the negotiations, India agreed, as a gesture of goodwill, to release 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war and not to pursue the war crimes of which they were accused .
The agreement was named after Shimla , the place where it was signed. President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto signed for Pakistan and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for India .