The Lahore Declaration was a bilateral agreement between India and Pakistan signed on February 21, 1999 by the then-Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif at the conclusion of a historic summit in Lahore, Pakistan.[1] The Lahore Declaration signalled a major breakthrough in overcoming the historically strained bilateral relations between the two nations in the aftermath of the nuclear tests carried out by both nations in May 1998, but would soon lose impetus with the outbreak of the Kargil War in May 1999.
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The Lahore Declaration was the first major political agreement between the two nations since the 1972 Shimla Agreement that formally established peaceful relations in the aftermath of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and committed both nations to resolving bilateral disputes by peaceful dialogue and co-operation. Bilateral relations were transformed and tensions heightened when India conducted the Pokhran-II — codename of nuclear tests on May 11 and May 13, 1998, establishing itself as a nuclear weapons power.[2] Pakistan responded with its own nuclear tests — Codename Chagai-I in Ros Koh area of Chagai Hills on May 28, and Chagai-II on May 30th, bringing the spectre of nuclear conflict to South Asia.
On September 23, 1998 both governments signed an agreement recognizing the principle of building an environment of peace and security and resolving all bilateral conflicts, which became the basis of the Lahore Declaration.[1] On February 19, 1999 the Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee embarked on a historic visit to Pakistan, travelling on the inaugural bus service connecting the Indian capital of New Delhi with the major Pakistani city of Lahore, establishing a major transport link for the peoples of both nations. The inaugural bus also carried Indian celebrities and dignitaries such as Dev Anand, Satish Gujral, Javed Akhtar, Kuldip Nayar, Kapil Dev, Shatrughan Sinha and Mallika Sarabhai.[3] He was received amidst great fanfare and media attention at the Pakistani border post of Wagah by his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, with whom he had been at loggerheads a year before over the nuclear tests controversy. The summit was hailed worldwide as a major breakthrough and milestone in bilateral relations and a historic step towards ending conflict and tensions in the region.[3]
The Lahore Declaration was signed on February 21 along with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) after three rounds of talks between the Indian and Pakistani leaders.[1][4] In its content, both governments asserted their commitment to the vision of peace, stability and mutual progress and their full commitment to the Shimla Agreement and the Charter of the United Nations. Both governments recognized through the Lahore Declaration that the development of nuclear weapons brought added responsibility to both nations towards avoiding conflict and promoted the importance of Confidence-building measures, especially to avoid accidental and unauthorised use of nuclear weapons.[1][4] India and Pakistan also decided to give each other advance notification of ballistic missile flight tests and accidental or unexplained use of nuclear weapons to avoid the outbreak of a nuclear conflict.[4]
The Lahore Declaration and the MoU incorporated a joint commitment to intensify efforts to resolve the Kashmir conflict and other dispute, to enhance bilateral dialogue and to implement nuclear safeguards and measures to prevent conflict. Both governments condemned terrorism and committed to non-interference in each other's internal affairs and the objectives of the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation and promote human rights.[1]
In the joint statement issued after the conclusion of the summit, both governments said that their foreign ministers would meet periodically and consult each other on issues pertaining to the World Trade Organization and information technology. A two-member ministerial committee was to be established to investigate human rights issues, civilian detainees and missing prisoners of war. The Indian Prime Minister thanked his Pakistani counterpart and issued an invitation for a future summit in India.[1]
The Lahore Declaration was hailed warmly in both India and Pakistan and in the global media and by governments of other nations, forging optimism after the global tensions over the 1998 nuclear tests.[3] The initiative bolstered the popularity of the Vajpayee government in India, cementing his standing as a statesman.[3] However, it was speculated in the media that many in Pakistani military and intelligence agencies did not approve of the agreement and consequently worked to subvert it and escalate tensions between the two nations.[5] The reception for Vajpayee, described as the leader of an "enemy nation," was boycotted by the military chiefs led by Gen. Pervez Musharaff, and terrorist attacks claiming the lives of civilians continued even as the summit was about to take place.[6][7]
The relations between the two nations were completely transformed at the outbreak of the Kargil War in May 1999, following the sudden revelation that Pakistani soldiers had infiltrated into Indian-administered Kashmir;[8][9] the Indian Army was deployed to evict the insurgents and retake capture the disputed territory.[8] The two-month-long conflict claimed the lives of hundreds of soldiers on both sides and brought both nations close to full-scale war and possible nuclear conflict. The conflict was followed by a military coup that overthrew the Nawaz Sharif regime and bringing the army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf, believed to be responsible for the Kargil incursion,[9] to power, thus exacerbating doubts over the future of the relations between the two nations.
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