Islamabad:
Pakistan has not made any formal decision to cease any bilateral agreement with India as the two countries compete for diplomatic front post April 22 Pahagam event.
“No formal decision to abolish any bilateral agreement with India has so far been made,” said a foreign office’s official on Thursday
The statement came a day after Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told a private TV channel that the Simla Agreement signed between Pakistan and India in 1972 lost his “holiness” due to New Delhi’s unilateral actions, including suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
“The [Simla] The deal was bilateral […] When no third party or the World Bank was involved, “Asif said, maintaining that the control line (LOC) would convert to a ceasefire in the absence of the bilateral treaty.
“If this is the case and India has begun on this [attitude] Then the Simla Agreement is between two parties and has no interference or patronage from the World Bank or anyone else, so LOC will return to a ceasefire line which was its original status according to [UN] Resolution adopted at the time of Plebiscit from 1948.
“The Holy Simla Agreement has been removed because of the actions of India,” the Minister of Defense added, saying that its conditions, such as for India and Pakistan to solve problems bilaterally, were no longer useful. “The deal as a whole after this episode of war now has no value,” he added.
The agreement was signed between Pakistan and India in the wake of the war in 1971; The signatories were Zulficar Ali Bhutto and Indira Gandhi.
