CEASE FIRE AGREEMENT BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN AND WHAT LIES AHEAD.
Intro.
The ceasefire agreement till date has been a mirage even though its being a confidence building measure between the two countries which would be in national interest of both the countries to disengage from eyeball to eyeball on LOC. Numerous spurt were made to normalize the situation, however since 1949 it remained inefficacious. Recently a new ray of hope has rekindled among the two nations with a peaceful conception in mind.
Background.
The phantasmagoric peace process begun way back in 1949 where in leaders of both the countries met and decided to abide by the ceasefire agreement of 1949. There has been a continuous conflict between both the countries over Kashmir. The Kashmir issue has led to four major wars between both the nations. However, state heads from both nations have tried to bring peace between both nations through ceasefire agreement.
Stride Towards Truce.
The process to bring peace and tranquility begun with the Karachi agreement of 1949. The major nub of the agreement was ceasefire, terms of truce and procedure for regulations regarding the plebiscite. Both the countries welcomed this move towards peace, wherein both the nation accepted the resolution and a ceasefire was achieved on 31 Dec 1948 and 27th July 1949 and agreement was signed between militaries representatives of both the nation at Karachi (Pak) which came to be known as the Karachi agreement which turned out to be fugacious. Fresh impetus came into play in 2003 when PM of India Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan counterpart entered into cease fire agreement which resulted in in resumption of number of development including resumption of bus and trade links between both the countries which was short lived and post 2006 India encountered regular violation along the loc bringing the agreement to a stalemate.
The ceasefire violation again started in 2008 when the peace process was derailed. The official statistics from India and Pak shows 2017 was the worst year since 2003 ceasefire as violation crossed 2000 marks for the first time. The relation between the nations deteriorated soon after 14th Feb 2019 (Pulwama Attack) and further got worsen after 2019 when India revoked special constitutional status given to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. In this ceasefire agreement of 2021, as per the statement both sides have agreed to strict observance of all agreement, understanding and ceasefire along the LOC. This decision came soon after telephonic communication of both DGMO’s over the hotline. This agreement was embraced by both the nations after more than a decade. In the present ceasefire agreement both sides have decided to fully utilize the existing mechanism of hotline and border flag meeting to resolve any unforeseen situations and misunderstanding.
What Lies Ahead.
This recent ceasefire agreement has rekindled the ray of hope in the hearts of people of both the nations. The endeavor of bringing peace and tranquility among both the nations will be a milestone to achieve harmonious and friendly relationship. The agreement will give green light to both the nations to devote their energy for future betterment. It is known that the agreement for the ceasefire in the State of J&K cannot be hold unless it is based on the principle of self determination that was agreed upon by leaders of both the nations which was supported by the UN Security Council. If this agreement achieves what it is aiming for it may open up many more avenues for everlasting trade and development towards both sides.
