India and Pakistan were the part of British India before independence. It was partitioned due to divide and rule policy of British. Pakistan has close ethnic, cultural and historical links with India. Common blood flows across the land. The trauma, agony and fratricidal conflicts of partition of 1947 still haunt the relationship between the two countries. The mutual distrust and animosity affect indo-Pak relations.

Major Pacts between India and Pakistan: After wars between India and Pakistan in 1965 and 1971, both the countries affirmed the need for negotiated peaceful settlement of disputes in the Tashkent Declaration of January 1966 between Talbahadur Shastri and Ayub Khan. Tn the Simla Agreement of 1972, Indira Gandhi and Z.A. Bhutto signed and agreed to solve all disputes in a peaceful manner and on a bilateral basis.

In 1988 both the countries signed the agreement not to attack nuclear installation and facilities of each other. The Lahore Declaration was signed between Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Shariff in 1999 and the historical bus journey called ‘Sadbhavan Yaatra’ was started from Delhi to Lahore.

Recent Trade ties: Joint Business Forum of both countries decided to augment for Indo-Pak economic relations by identifying opportunities, impediments and prescribing solutions. For better handling of trucks at Wagah-Attari border, it was decided to open more land routes between two nations to boost the economic activities. The Forum’s decision to open Bank branches of both countries is a significant step in the bilateral trade relations.

It created the environment of increasing cooperation in the field of petroleum, power, agriculture, textiles and pharmaceuticals. Pakistan wanted non-discriminatory access to India as a SAARC member country. The Forum has the aim to build the mutual trade relations between two countries for new economic cooperation in 2013.