What Is 2003 Ceasefire Agreement

Following a new Kashmir war in 1965 and the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War (which became independent in Bangladesh), only minor changes had been made to the original ceasefire line. In the Simla agreement that followed in 1973, the two countries agreed to transform the ceasefire line into a “line of control” and to consider it as a de facto border that should not be violated by armed actions. Ceasefire violations along the LOC had become a routine activity during the Kashmir uprising in the 1990s. After the 2003 ceasefire agreement, they were almost stalled during the 2004-2007 peace process. However, ceasefire violations resumed in 2008, when the peace process derailed. Official statistics from India and Pakistan indicate that 2017 was the worst year since the 2003 ceasefire, when violations surpassed the 2000 mark for the first time. These figures clearly indicate that the 2003 unwritten ceasefire is now over, and India and Pakistan are once again in the pre-2003 situation, when such violations were routine along the LOC. According to Professor Happymon Jacob, it was a miracle that the 2003 ceasefire survived for so long, even though he had not written anything officially between the two countries. Experts have been cautious in the agreement, highlighting the long history of rivals who have failed in peace efforts.

“We can only hope that this ceasefire has some degree of seriousness,” said Satish Nambiar, a retired Indian army general in New Delhi. Artillery battles were an integral part of the LoC until 2003, when the two sides agreed on a ceasefire, the devastation that ensued was catastrophic for both countries and the risk of an escalation of the conflict. India says the Pakistani army is violating the ceasefire along the LoC to facilitate the infiltration of armed militants into Kashmir to strengthen the insurgency in the state since 1989 for an independent Muslim country that has killed more than 70,000 people. “In 2011, there were only 62 minor incidents of ceasefire violations. The figure in 2012 was similar. In 2013, this figure rose to 347. It`s never been like this again. In 2013, several major incidents were reported, including beheadings. Previously, these offences were limited to warning shots.