Failure of Simla agreement exposes Pakistan duplicity

The 40th anniversary of the Simla Agreement on July 3 once again underlines the failure of the successive Congress-led governments’ policy towards Pakistan. During every bitter military conflict with Pakistan since Independence, Indian Armed Forces have delivered significant strategic advantages at great cost of men and material. Yet after every war, successive governments have conceded these gains in search of an elusive peace, without getting anything in return. Following the Simla Agreement, India returned 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war and 5,600 sq miles of territory, drawing blank in return.

Four decades after a resolution of the Kashmir dispute the core strategic objective of the so-called ‘tacit understanding’ between Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, appears to be going nowhere. In 1999 it invaded Kargil, crossing the Line of Actual Control in violation of the Simla Agreement. As a former ISI chief, General Ziauddin Butt, has revealed at the same time Pakistan asked then Taliban ‘President’ Mullah Rabbani for 20,000-30,000 volunteers for jihad in Kashmir. Since then Pakistan has been systematically expanding the operation of terror groups operating against India from its soil and has refused to hand over any of those involved in 26/11 and other terrorist attacks.

Pakistan’s latest talk of demilitarisation of Siachen has to be viewed in this backdrop. Unfortunately, the Manmohan Singh government seems to be ignoring these lessons of history for a ‘breakthrough’. The motivated leaks from South Block claiming that India had virtually reached an agreement with Pakistan on Siachen tend to strengthen the suspicion some elements in the Indian establishment are preparing the ground for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Pakistan. If they succeed, it would be fatal for India’s strategic interests. At a time when Pakistan continues to defiantly protect Hafiz Saeed and his cohorts from prosecution and encourages terror outfits in Pakistan to spew venom against India, it would be a folly to believe that it can be trusted to keep its word.