The Tashkent Declaration was signed between

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

on 10 January 1966 to resolve the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Peace was achieved on 23 September through interventions by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, both of which pushed the two warring countries towards a ceasefire in an attempt to avoid any escalation that could draw in other powers.

Background

The meeting was hosted by the

in the city of

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

, from 4 to 10 January 1966 in an attempt to create a more permanent settlement between the warring sides. The Soviets, represented by Soviet politician Aleksei Kosygin, moderated between Indian prime minister

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; born Lal Bahadur Srivastava; 2 October 190411 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1964 to 1966. He previously served as Minister ...

and Pakistani president

Muhammad Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, comm ...

Declaration

A declaration was released that was hoped to be a framework for lasting peace by stating that the Indian military and the Pakistani military would pull back to their pre-conflict positions, their pre-August lines, no later than 25 February 1966; neither nation would interfere in each other's internal affairs; economic and diplomatic relations would be restored; there would be an orderly transfer of prisoners of war, and both leaders would work towards improving bilateral relations.

Aftermath

The treaty was heavily criticized in both countries, as Indians and Pakistanis were expecting more concessions to their respective sides than what had been agreed upon. In accordance with the Tashkent Declaration, talks were held at the ministerial level on 1 and 2 March 1966. Despite the fact that these talks were unproductive, the diplomatic exchange continued throughout the spring and summer, though stark differences of opinion on the

Kashmir conflict The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, and also between China and India in the northeastern portion of the region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1 ...

culminated in the lack of a resolution from bilateral discussions. In

, the agreement was criticized because it did not contain a no-war pact or any renunciation of guerrilla warfare across

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, 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 P ...

. After the Tashkent Declaration was signed, Indian prime minister

died under mysterious circumstances in Tashkent; his sudden death led to the rise of conspiracy theories claiming that he was poisoned. Journalist, conspiracy theorist, and holocaust denier Gregory Douglas claimed he conducted a series of interviews with American intelligence officer Robert Crowley in 1993. According to Douglas, Crowley claimed that the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

assassinated Shastri as well as Indian nuclear scientist

Homi J. Bhabha Homi Jehangir Bhabha, FNI, FASc, FRS (30 October 1909 – 24 January 1966) was an Indian nuclear physicist who is widely credited as the "father of the Indian nuclear programme". He was the founding director and professor of physics at the ...

(who died on Air India Flight 101) in order to thwart the development of India's nuclear weapons programme. The Indian government has refused to declassify a report on his death under the claim that it would harm India's foreign relations, cause disruption in the country, and breach parliamentary privileges. In

, the agreement caused widespread distress; social upset was exacerbated after Pakistani president

went into seclusion in the ceasefire's aftermath, as demonstrations and riots erupted across the country. However, Khan later addressed the nation on 14 January 1966 and explained the rationale behind the agreement. Although he was eventually able to quell the unrest, the Tashkent Declaration greatly damaged Khan's image, and was one of the factors that ultimately led to his downfall in 1969.The falling out at Tashkent (1966) between Ayub Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
The Friday Times (newspaper), Updated 4 November 2016, Retrieved 24 July 2020

References

External links

Full text of Tashkent Declaration
UN Peacemaker
All peace agreement for India
UN Peacemaker
All peace agreements for Pakistan
UN Peacemaker {{Authority control History of the Republic of India Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 Foreign relations of the Soviet Union Pakistan–Soviet Union relations India–Soviet Union relations 1966 in the Soviet Union Diplomatic conferences in the Soviet Union Peace treaties of Pakistan Declaration 1966 in India Peace treaties of India Treaties concluded in 1966 1966 in Pakistan Treaties of India Shastri administration India–Pakistan treaties India–Pakistan military relations

Background

Declaration

Aftermath

See also

References

External links