Agra Summit
2001 Indo-Pakistan Agra Summit | |
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Type | Peace and bilateral efforts to bring stability in the region |
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The Agra summit was a historic two-day summit meeting between India and Pakistan which lasted from 14 to 16 July 2001. It was organized with the aim of resolving long-standing issues between India and Pakistan.[2]
At this meeting, a proposal was made to drastically reduce
Overview
Earlier in 1999, during Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to Pakistan, both countries had acceded and successfully ratified the
On 11 March 2001, the
After much diplomatic efforts, the Agra summit started amid high hopes of resolving various disputes between the two countries including the five decades old Kashmir issue. Both sides started the summit with hopefulness and in a spirit of good will; especially President Musharraf who used the phrases "cautious optimism", "flexibility" and "open mind" to describe his views for the summit. The
Various rounds of one-to-one talks were held between President Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee. On the first day, a 90-minute one-on-one session was held and the two leaders discussed the Kashmir issue, cross-border terrorism, nuclear risk reduction, release of prisoners of war, and commercial ties.[4] There were high hopes in Pakistan that both the leaders would arrive at an agreement and a joint statement or declaration would be made at the end of the summit as the two leaders plunged into serious talks.[4] Despite reservations from the Indian Government, President Musharraf also held face-to-face meetings with the top Kashmiri leadership represented by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.[4]
The most important agenda of Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in the Indo-Pak summit was to stress upon the economic betterment of the people of Kashmir, for which he invited a dialogue with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
Quote:
"Pakistan has been seeking a solution to J&K in accordance with the wishes of the "Kashmiri people". I am certain that the primary wish of every single Kashmiri, whether from the Kashmir valley or Jammu, Ladakh,
Collapse
The talks and peace process, however, collapsed and no signatures were attained for the Agra treaty. The talks faced a number of obstacles.
Despite the failure of the talks, General Pervez Musharraf joined Vajpayee to call on the two countries to bury their past.[4] He also invited the Indian Prime Minister to visit Pakistan as he felt that the issues between Pakistan and India were much more complicated and could not be resolved in a short time.[4]
Following the August 2001 Agra summit, India reiterated the necessity of implementing the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration.[3] It said that India would support the Simla Agreement, the Lahore Declaration, and the issue of cross-border terrorism.[3]
On 6 July 2015, A. S. Dulat, former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency, revealed that L.K. Advani played a role in the collapse of the Agra Summit.[7]
References
- ^ "Agra summit at a glance". BBC News. 17 July 2001. Archived from the original on 3 January 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- The Hindu Business Line. 17 July 2001. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
- ^ a b c d NTI. "Lahore Declaration". Lahore Declaration. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g POP (21 February 2004). "Agra Summit". Story of Pakistan. Story of Pakistan ATeam. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ [1]Indo-Pak Summit 2001. Press Information Bureau, Government of India
- ^ a b c d e Kampani, Gaurav (1 June 2002). "Indo-Pakistani Military Standoff: Why It Isn't Over Yet". Gaurav Kampani Senior Research Associate at Monterey Institute of International Studies. Senior Research Associate at Monterey Institute of International Studies. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ Book Review-AS Dulat’s ‘Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years’