Amid ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has announced that the 1972 Shimla Agreement between the two countries has “completely ended.” In an interview with a Pakistani news channel, Asif declared the historic pact a “dead document.”
He further stated that Pakistan has now reverted to the 1948 position, when the United Nations designated the Line of Control (LoC) as a ceasefire line following its resolutions and the ceasefire agreement.
Declaring the Shimla Agreement null and void, the Defence Minister emphasized that Pakistan can now raise the India-Pakistan dispute on multilateral and international platforms, instead of resolving it through bilateral dialogue.
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Commenting on the regional security situation, Asif warned that the threat of war with India still looms. “Pakistan does not desire war, but if it is imposed on us, the response will be even stronger than before,” he asserted.
He also spoke about the post-conflict trajectory, claiming that Pakistan has emerged as a stronger defensive power after its previous wars with India.
Notably, following the Pahalgam terrorist attack April 22, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty. In a tit-for-tat move, Pakistan responded by suspending the Shimla Agreement around the same time.