As India marks 26 years of its triumph in the Kargil War, the time is ripe to look beyond the symbolism of the conflict and examine a disturbing strategic reality ~ Pakistan has systematically weaponised ceasefire agreements not to seek peace, but to perpetuate conflict. From the signing of the Karachi Agreement in 1949 to the most recent ceasefire violations after the Pahalgam terror attack and during Operation Sindoor, Pakistan has turned diplomatic instruments into warfighting tools. These actions are not random violations.

They form a consistent pattern of aggression, deeply rooted in Pakistan’s statecraft, intended to keep India-Pakistan relations in a state of controlled volatility. This strategy serves Pakistan’s internal political, ideological, and military compulsions, and the global community’s silence has only emboldened its actions. In July 1949, following the first Indo-Pak war over Jammu & Kashmir, India and Pakistan signed the Karachi Agreement, which established a ceasefire line to halt hostilities. Supervis – ed by the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) and implemented by the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), this agreement aimed to stabilise the region.

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On paper, the Karachi Agreement looked like a diplomatic success. On the ground, however, Pakistan never truly honoured it. The first major violation came in 1965, through Operation Gibraltar ~ a covert operation where Pakistani soldiers disguised as locals infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir to incite rebellion. The operation failed and led to the Second Indo-Pak War. Pakistan had ex – ploited the Karachi ceasefire not to maintain peace, but to prepare for another offensive. After the 1971 war, which led to the creation of Bangladesh, the Shimla Agreement of 1972 superseded the Karachi pact and converted the ceasefire line into the Line of Control (LoC).

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