The Karachi Agreement of 1949 was signed by the military representatives of India and Pakistan, supervised by the

United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan The United Nations Security Council Resolution 47, adopted on 21 April 1948, concerns the resolution of the Kashmir conflict. After hearing arguments from both India and Pakistan, the Council increased the size of the UN Commission created by t ...

, establishing a cease-fire line in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. It established a cease-fire line which has been monitored by United Nations observers from the United Nations since then.

Background

The Security Council Resolution 39 of April 1948 established a UN Commission (

— UNCIP) to mediate between India and Pakistan to bring about a cessation of

fighting Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

in Kashmir and to make arrangements for a popular plebiscite. After negotiations with the two sides, the Commission passed a three-part resolution in August 1948 and subsequently added a 'supplement'. The three parts dealt with ceasefire, terms for truce, and procedures for negotiation regarding the plebiscite. Both the countries accepted the resolution and a ceasefire was achieved on 31 December 1948.

Agreement

The Karachi Agreement formally called the ''Agreement Between Military Representatives of India and Pakistan Regarding the Establishment of a Cease-Fire Line in the State of Jammu and Kashmir,'' was signed on 27 July 1949, supervised by the Truce Subcommittee of the UNCIP. The signatories were: # Lt. Gen. S. M. Shrinagesh, on behalf of India # Maj. Gen. W. J. Cawthorn, on behalf of Pakistan # Hernando Samper and M. Delvoie, on behalf of the UNCIP. The other members of the Indian delegation were Maj. Gen. K. S. Thimayya, Brig.

Sam Manekshaw Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw (3 April 1914 – 27 June 2008), widely known as Sam Manekshaw and Sam Bahadur ("Sam the Brave"), was the Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of ...

, Maj. S. K. Sinha (who acted as the ''aide-de-camp'' for Gen. Srinagesh), and the secretaries of the Defence Ministry and the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs. The Pakistani delegation included Maj. Gen. Nazir Ahmed and Brig. Sher Khan and civil servants M. Ayub and A. A. Khan. The military representatives of the two sides negotiated for a week starting 18 July to demarcate the positions under their control. S. K. Sinha stated that the Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

briefed the Indian delegation before the Karachi meeting, wherein he informed them that the

UN Resolution A United Nations resolution (UN resolution) is a formal text adopted by a United Nations (UN) body. Although any UN body can issue resolutions, in practice most resolutions are issued by the Security Council or the General Assembly. Legal st ...

conceded the legality of Kashmir's accession to India and, so, any "no man's land" would belong to India. The Pakistani delegation would need to produce proof to the UN Commission of factual positions of their control for all the territory they claim. Sinha stated that, based on this principle, the agreement demarcated several hundred square miles of territory on the Indian side even though there were no Indian troops in that territory.Claude Arpi
The myths of wild roses and Pakistani presence in Siachen
Daily News and Analysis, 28 May 2012. Page 2 - CFL as shown on UN Map to Karachi Agreement 1949

Page 2 - CFL as shown on UN Map to Karachi Agreement 1949

The 830 kilometre long ceasefire line established in the agreement started from a southernmost point just west of the

Chenab river The Chenab River () is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul regi ...

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi Ri ...

. It ran in a rough arc northwards and then northeastwards to the map coordinate

NJ9842 NJ9842, also called NJ 980420 (in full: NJ 38 98000, 13 42000, yard based Indian Grid Coordinates), is the northernmost demarcated point of the India-Pakistan cease fire line in Kashmir known as the Line of Control (LoC). The India–Pakistan ...

, about 19 km north of the

Shyok river The Shyok River is a tributary of the Indus River that flows through northern Ladakh and enters Gilgit–Baltistan, spanning some . The Shyok River originates at the Rimo Glacier, one of the tongues of Siachen Glacier. Its alignment is very ...

. From the map point NJ9842, it was said to run due north to the international boundary with China, at a distance of about 60–65 km. Since there were no troops in that area of inaccessible glacial terrain, no effort was made to extend the ceasefire line between NJ9842 and the China border. This area, of the

Siachen Glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kar ...

, eventually became a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. Another anomaly arose at the southern end of the ceasefire line in

. From the terminus of the ceasefire line to the international boundary between Indian and Pakistani

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, there was a gap of over 200 km, which was covered by a recognised "provincial boundary" between Pakistani Punjab and the

princely state of Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir, officially known as the Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu, was a princely state during the Company rule in India from 1757 to 1858 as well as the British Raj in India from 1846 to 1952. The princely state was created afte ...

. India generally referred to this boundary as the "international border", whereas Pakistan referred to it as the "border" or the "working border".

Map of the Agreement

U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

document number S/1430/Add.2 (which is the second

addendum An addendum or appendix, in general, is an addition required to be made to a document by its author subsequent to its printing or publication. It comes from the gerundive , plural , "that which is to be added," from (, compare with memorandum, ...

to the 1949 Karachi Agreement) shows the Cease Fire Line (CFL) marked on the Map of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Title of this addendum reads:

Map of the State of Jammu and Kashmir showing the Cease Fire Line as Agreed Upon in the Karachi Agreement, Ratified by the Governments of India and Pakistan on 29 and 30 July Respectively. (See Annex 26 to the third Interim Report of the United Nation Commission for India and Pakistan)

U.N. Map illustrating Cease Fire Line as per Karachi Agreement

The Karachi Agreement between India and Pakistan established a cease-fire line to be supervised by the military observers. These observers, under the command of the

Military Advisor Military advisors, or combat advisors, advise on military matters. Some are soldiers sent to foreign countries to aid such countries with their military training, organization, and other various military tasks. The Foreign powers or organizations m ...

, formed the nucleus of the

United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan The United Nations has played an advisory role in maintaining peace and order in the Kashmir region soon after the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, when a dispute erupted between the two States on the question of Jammu and Kashmir. Indi ...

(UNMOGIP). On 30 March 1951, following the termination of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP), the Security Council, by Resolution 91 (1951) decided that UNMOGIP should continue to supervise the cease-fire line in Kashmir. UNMOGIP's functions were to observe and report, investigate complaints of cease-fire violations and submit its findings to each party and to the Secretary-General.Time U.N. observers left Kashmir: India
/ref>

References

External links

Complete text of the agreementFull text of the Karachi Agreement
UN Peacemaker
UN Map showing CFL as per Karachi Agreement - UN document number S/1430/Add.2
Dag Digital Library - the United Nations
UN Commission for India and Pakistan: annexes to the interim report
Annex 26
All peace agreement for India
UN Peacemaker
All peace agreements for Pakistan
UN Peacemaker

Bibliography

* * John Cherian

Frontline, 17 July 1999 * *

External links

Karachi Agreement
United Nations Peacemaker website. {{Authority control Peace treaties of Pakistan Peace treaties of India Treaties involving territorial changes Diplomacy regarding the Kashmir conflict India–Pakistan relations 1949 in India 1949 in Pakistan Treaties concluded in 1949 Treaties entered into force in 1949 Treaties of the Dominion of India India–Pakistan treaties Government of Liaquat Ali Khan

Background

Agreement

Map of the Agreement

U.N. Map illustrating Cease Fire Line as per Karachi Agreement

See also

References

External links

Bibliography

External links