​​Across the border: Key bilateral agreements signed between India and Pakistan since Independence​

In the wake of dastardly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, India took several diplomatic measures against Pakistan, holding up the Indus Waters treaty, expelling diplomats and top defense officials from the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi, cancelleling all visas granted to Pakistan nationals and directing them to leave the country in 48 hours, and shuting the Attari-Wagah border. Know about the major bilateral agreements signed between India and Pakistan after Independence. (Pic credit: AP)

The agreement was reached between then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan’s Liaquat Ali Khan in New Delhi on April 8, 1950. The agreement was signed after the Partition amid widespread communal violence, making both governments accountable for protecting minority rights in their respective countries. It also ensured free movement, equal job opportunities, and established a minorities commission for oversight. (Pic credit: Facebook/Archive 150)

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan's then President Ayub Khan signed the treaty on September 19, 1960 to manage shared rivers. According to the agreement, India controls eastern rivers Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej of the Indus river system while Pakistan gets the waters from the western rivers Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab. The treaty was brokered by the World Bank after nine years of talks, which also provided for the funding and construction of dams, link canals, barrages and tube wells. (Pic credit: World Bank)

It was signed between former Prime Minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistan’s President Muhammad Ayub Khan in Tashkent on January 10, 1966 which was mediated by the Soviet Union. Both countries declared their firm resolve to restore normal and peaceful relations between their countries according to the UN Charter to promote understanding and friendly relations for the welfare of the 600 million people of India and Pakistan. (Pic credit: National Archives of India)

The Simla Agreement was signed on July 2, 1972, between former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, following the 1971 war, which served as a peace treaty between India and Pakistan. The agreement was intended to normalise ties between India and Pakistan and set the tone for resolving disputes through peaceful bilateral negotiations, without third-party intervention. A significant outcome of this agreement was the establishment of the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, effectively dividing the region between the two nations. (Pic credit: AP)

Under the protocol signed between the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan in September 1974, it is the obligation of the concerned country to make every effort to ensure that the places of worship in the agreed list of shrines are properly maintained and their sanctity preserved. The protocol allows nationals of India and Pakistan to visit from one country to the other without discrimination as to religion or sect. (Pic credit: PTI)

The agreement was signed between former foreign secretary of Pakistan Humayun Khan and Indian foreign secretary KPS Menon on December 31, 1988, which refrained each party from undertaking any action aimed at causing the destruction of, or damage to, any nuclear installation or facility in the other country. Each contracting party has to inform the other on January 1 of each calendar year of the latitude and longitude of its nuclear installations and facilities and whenever there is any change. (Pic credit: Times of India)

The Lahore Declaration was signed on February 21, 1999, between the then Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif respectively, aimed at de-escalating nuclear tensions and promoting peace in the region. The declaration came shortly after both countries had conducted nuclear tests in 1998, which raised regional and international concerns about the potential for nuclear conflict in South Asia. The declaration emphasised the need for additional confidence-building measures (CBMs) to foster a climate of trust and mutual understanding. (Pic credit: Times of India)