Text of Letter dated 17 June 1949 from the Secretary General, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India Mr. G.S. Bajpai to Mr. Lozano, relating to conditions required in respect to a truce agreement (UN Document No. S/AC. 12/214)

161 Text of Letter dated 17 June 1949 from the Secretary General, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India Mr. G.S. Bajpai to Mr. Lozano, relating to conditions required in respect to a truce agreement (UN Document No. S/AC. 12/214)

Pursuant to our conversation of the 11th, 13th and 16th June, I am setting out below, specifically, the conditions on which our requirements in respect of a truce agreement which was dealt with at length in my letter to Your Excellency, No. 267-PASG/49, dated the 18th May 1949 will be met.

(i) Disbanding and disarming of Azad Kashmir forces The commitment of the Commission with respect to the purpose of point 4 (b) of its resolution of 5th January 1949, namely, the large-scale disbanding and disarming of the Azad Kashmir forces remains unquestioned. The consultations for initiating the implementation of 4 (b), referred to in paragraphs. (B) and (C) of part III of the Commission's proposals forwarded with your letter of the 28th April 1949 (annex 22), will be for the purpose of reaching decisions as to the procedure and phasing of the large-scale disbanding and disarming of these forces. Further if, by the end of the seven weeks referred to in III (C) of the Commission's proposals, the Commission should find that the large-scale disbanding and disarming of these forces is impracticable, the conditions mentioned in paragraph 2 of the Commission's resolution of the 5th January 1949 will be deemed not to have been completed.

(ii) Sparsely populated mountainous regions in the north of the State-In paragraph 2 (b) of the annexure of my D.O. No. 248-PASG/49, dated the 13th April, I mentioned the strategic points in the north which, in the view of our Military Advisers, should be held by our forces in the north in order to insure fully the security of the State. However, we should be willing to occupy only Dudhnial, Shardi, Surgun, Folowai, Kamri Bal Press, Burzil Bai and Marol in the expectation that Pakistan forces, regular as well as irregular, will be withdrawn from the State. Should this expectation not be realized, or Should a threat to the security of the State or the maintenance of internal order arise in that area from any other source, the Government of India will be free to garrison with their forces all or any of the other points mentioned in my letter referred to above. The Government of India feel compelled to take up this position because of measures such as the construction of roads, and the provision of arms and supplies to points like Skardu, of which the only significance can be that Pakistan either does not wish to withdraw from this territory or intends that after withdrawal, those who stay behind can create turmoil. As stated previously, the question of the administration of this region can be discussed separately.

(iii) Phasing of withdrawal of Indian forces-We have already pointed out to the Commission the interdependence of the phasing of the withdrawal of Indian forces and the progress made with the disbanding and disarming of the so called "Azad Kashmir" forces. From this standpoint, we consider the following programme of withdrawal as the absolute maximum compatible with security.

(At the request of the Government of India, the schedule of the withdrawal of troops is not reproduced here.) As already agreed, this programme may not be communicated to the Pakistan Government until a truce agreement has been arrived at.

(Signed) G S. Bajpai