ISLAMABAD: A Foreign Office spokesman said here today [Sept 27] that Pakistan’s … interests would be fully safeguarded while honouring the Simla Agreement. He was commenting on a report appearing in a section of the Karachi Urdu Press suspecting the existence of secret clauses in the Simla Agreement pertaining to the recognition of Bangladesh and alleging that the President had also agreed to return two posts in the Lipa Valley to India.

… The spokesman said: “… The President has … stated that there are no secret clauses to the Simla Agreement. Both before and after the signing of the Agreement, people from all walks of life, including elected representatives were consulted and … taken into confidence.”

“The ratification of the Simla Agreement by an overwhelming majority of the National Assembly testifies to its acceptance by the people. … It is regrettable that formal statements by the Government are ignored by a section of the Press and more credence is placed on speculative stories in foreign news media. As for the posts in the Lipa Valley, the delineation of the line of control in Jammu and Kashmir is being carried out by the senior commanders of Pakistan and India … in implementation of the Simla Agreement … which states that the two sides will respect the line of control… .” — News agencies

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2022