Khawaja Asif declares Simla agreement a 'dead document'
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Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has declared the 1972 Simla Agreement 'dead' in the current geopolitical context, stating that Pakistan has effectively returned to the 1948 position regarding Kashmir, and the Line of Control (LoC) should now be viewed as a ceasefire line.
In an interview with a private television channel on Wednesday, the minister said that while the Simla Agreement had initially committed both India and Pakistan to resolving disputes bilaterally, that framework had collapsed due to unilateral Indian actions in recent years.
'The Simla Agreement is now a dead document. We are back to the 1948 position, when the United Nations declared the LoC a ceasefire line following the ceasefire and resolutions,' he said, referring to the UN-mediated cessation of hostilities in the first India-Pakistan war. 'Going forward, these disputes will be dealt with multilaterally or internationally.'
He also cast doubt over the status of other bilateral arrangements, stating that "whether the Indus Waters Treaty is suspended or not, Simla is already over."
Commenting on regional tensions, Asif said the threat of war with India remains present. 'Pakistan does not desire war, but if it is imposed on us, the response will be even stronger than before,' he warned.
The minister touched upon post-conflict developments, stating that Pakistan had emerged as a strengthened defensive power after its past wars with India. "We have become a defensive force. Orders for our JF-17 Thunder fighter jets are coming in," he said, highlighting Pakistan's growing defence capabilities.
Also Read: 'Ready but not desperate' for talks with India: Dar
On the issue of Afghan refugees, Asif reiterated that Afghans should now return to their homeland. 'Afghans must settle in their own country. They have no loyalty to our soil,' he remarked, adding that the time had come to address this issue firmly.
The defence minister also highlighted the issue of tax evasion in the country, stressing that billions of rupees are lost to tax theft annually. 'We must plug this leakage and divert these funds towards national defence,' he concluded.
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