The stalemate continued for most of the year, but on October 24, India began withdrawing its troops from the border. The two governments recognized the need to reduce the level of tension between the two countries through dialogue, but noted that tensions will persist until the Kashmir issue is resolved. While in Kashmir, only the “maintenance of the line of control” was the spokesman, a clause was added at India`s request that the two countries would only settle their differences by “peaceful means through bilateral negotiations or other mutually agreed peaceful means,” Guha writes. This theoretically excludes third-party mediation in Kashmir. In addition to the withdrawal of troops and the return of prisoners from the 1971 war, the Simla Agreement was a plan for India and Pakistan to maintain friendly and neighbourly relations. As part of the agreement, the two belligerent countries promised to renounce conflicts and confrontations and make efforts to establish peace, friendship and cooperation. According to historian Ramachandra Guha, India wanted a “comprehensive treaty to resolve all outstanding issues,” while Pakistan preferred a “piecemeal approach.” Although India wanted a treaty, it got a deal because of the hard deals made by the Pakistanis. In 2001, at the invitation of Prime Minister Vajpayee, General Pervez Musharraf, then President of Pakistan, visited India on July 14-16 for a historic two-day summit in Agra. However, the talks failed and no text of agreement could be reached. Despite several attempts to improve Indo-Pakistani relations, several terrorist attacks against India, allegedly planned on Pakistani soil, have hampered efforts to do so.
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