Tashkent Declaration: Difference between revisions

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The '''Tashkent Declaration''' was signed between [[India]] and [[Pakistan]] on 10 January 1966 to resolve the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]. Peace was achieved on 23 September through interventions by the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[United States]], both of which pushed the two warring countries towards a ceasefire in an attempt to avoid any escalation that could draw in other powers.<ref name="BBCnews">{{cite news|title=The 1965 war|work=BBC News website|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/south_asia/2002/india_pakistan/timeline/1965.stm|access-date=24 July 2022}}</ref><ref name=RB/>

In [[India]], the agreement was criticized because it did not contain a no-war pact or any renunciation of guerrilla warfare across [[Kashmir]]. After the Tashkent Declaration was signed, Indian prime minister [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]] died under mysterious circumstances in Tashkent;<ref name="MapsOfIndia"/> his sudden death led to the rise of conspiracy theories claiming that he was poisoned.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/45-yrs-on-Shastris-death-a-mystery/articleshow/4764773.cms|title=45 yrs on, Shastri's death a mystery|last=Dhawan|first=Himanshi|date=11 July 2009|work=The Times of India|access-date=10 January 2022}}</ref> In 1993, journalist Gregory Douglas conducted a series of interviews with American intelligence officer [[Robert Crowley (CIA)|Robert Crowley]]. According to Douglas, Crowley claimed that the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] assassinated Shastri as well as Indian nuclear scientist [[Homi J. Bhabha]] (who died on [[Air India Flight 101]]) in order to thwart the development of [[India and weapons of mass destruction|India's nuclear weapons programme]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Douglas |first=Gregory |title=Conversations with the Crow |publisher=Basilisk Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0991175208 |pages=66–67 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Unrevealed |first=Files |date=2021-09-23 |title=Homi Bhabha's Death: An Unfortunate Accident or the Hands of the Crow |url=https://www.unrevealedfiles.com/homi-bhabhas-death-an-unfortunate-accident-or-the-hands-of-the-crow/ |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=Unrevealed Files |language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" />

In [[Pakistan]], the agreement caused widespread distress; social upset was exacerbated after Pakistani president [[Ayub Khan (President of Pakistan)|Muhammad Ayub Khan]] went into seclusion in the ceasefire's aftermath, as demonstrations and riots erupted across the country.<ref name="MapsOfIndia">{{Cite web|url=http://www.mapsofindia.com/on-this-day/june-30-1965-a-ceasefire-is-agreed-under-un-auspices-between-india-and-pakistan-to-stop-the-war-at-the-rann-of-kutch|title=June 30th 1965: A Ceasefire was Agreed under UN Auspices Between India and Pakistan, Who Signed a Treaty to Stop the War at Rann of Kutch|website=MapsofIndia.com|date=30 June 2014|access-date=24 July 2022}}</ref> 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.<ref>[https://www.thefridaytimes.com/tft/the-falling-out-at-tashkent-1966/ 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</ref><ref name="PublicAffairs, Lieven">{{cite book |last1=Lieven |first1=Anatol |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=exBKSo-Pf6cC&q=Bengali%20Pakistani%20people%5C&pg=PT77 |title=Pakistan: A Hard Country |publisher=PublicAffairs |year=2012 |isbn=978-1610391627 |language=en |access-date=23 December 2022}}</ref>