2008 Bilateral Agreement Between India And Pakistan

8. September 2021

5. On the eve of these talks, both sides welcomed the release of prisoners and fishermen as a gesture of goodwill and for human reasons. It was agreed to exchange, before 31 December 2008, the names of civilian prisoners who have completed their sentences and whose national status was confirmed in order to facilitate their release in January. It was also agreed that the verification of nationality status would be completed within six weeks of the granting of consular access. It was also agreed to facilitate the rapid release of fishermen and boats. It is undeniable that because of the challenges and constraints it faces, the UN Security Council cannot function with all its possibilities, because „states, in their quest for purpose, use all available institutions to serve their interests“ (Weiss 2003: 151). They signed the Simla Agreement, under which India would repatriate all Pakistani personnel (more than 90,000) and conquered territory in the West, and the two countries would „settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations.“ Diplomatic and trade relations also resumed in 1976. Attempts to renew dialogue between the two nations were largely revived by the meeting of the two Prime Ministers in Lahore in February 1999 and the signing of three agreements. Since the election of new governments in India and Pakistan in the early 2010s, some attempts have been made to improve relations, including building consensus on the Non-Discriminatory Market Access Status Agreement (NDMARB) that will liberalize trade. [9] India and Pakistan are both members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and its South Asian Free Trade Area. Pakistan hosted a pavilion at the annual India International Trade Fair which drew large crowds. [10] The deterioration of relations between the two nations led to a boycott of Pakistani traders at the fair. India and Pakistan have fought in many armed conflicts since independence.

There are three major wars that took place between the two states, namely 1947, 1965 and the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Added to this was the unofficial Kargil war in 1999 and a few border crossing aprons.