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from the ceasefire agreement for the Rann of Kutch, which was signed on June 30.
That made the time right for escalation, and that happened when thousands of Indian
troops crossed the ceasefire line to cut the infiltration of mujaheddin on August 25.
On September 4, the United Nations passed Resolution 209, which called for a
ceasefire, but India declined. Also, the Soviets offered to mediate the dispute, but both
disputants declined. Indian forces launched an offensive toward Lahore two days later,
and the United Nations once again called on both parties to ceasefire in Resolution
- On September 8, the United States announced it would stop supplying India and
Pakistan with military equipment, which hampered Pakistan because the Americans
were its sole supplier.
On September 20, the Security Council demanded a ceasefire and a return to prewar
positions (Resolution 211). Pakistan was running out of ammunition, and India agreed
when China made a threat over the India-China border dispute. The two sides stopped
firing three days later but did not fully implement the ceasefire. Troops from both sides
remained in the other’s territory and continued to clash. Pakistan also threatened to
leave the United Nations unless the fundamental issue of sovereignty in Kashmir was
addressed. In January 1966, Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistani
President Ayub Khan met at Tashkent for mediation from Soviet Premier Alexei
Kosygin. On January 10, the participants signed the Declaration of Tashkent, and
12 days later their army chiefs met at New Delhi and agreed to begin a 1,000-yard
withdrawal.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from March 5, 1965. End Date changed from
September 23, 1965.
MID#2631
Dispute Number: 2631
Date(s): January 25, 1965 to July 1, 1965
Participants: 770 Pakistan/750 India
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (Negotiated)
Fatalities: 251–500 deaths
Narrative: India and West Pakistan had delineated most of the border after fighting in
1956, but the Rann of Kutch remained contested. Since India gained all territory that
was once in the Princely State of Kutch and West Pakistan gained all territory once
under control of the former province of Sindh, the question became to which of the
former administrations the Rann belonged. Pakistan also argued that the Rann was a
lake and so the boundary should run through the middle; India identified the Rann as
a marsh and so the boundary would not run through the middle.
The dispute became militarized on January 25, 1965, when Indian police discovered
Pakistani posts in the disputed area. Indian troops responded by constructing their own
posts nearby. On April 7, Pakistan accused Indian troops of border violations, and
two days later fighting started in the Rann lake of Kutch, which sits on the India-West
Pakistan border. Each accused the other of starting the fight. On April 12, Pakistan
alleged an Indian tank attack, but India only conceded that it had responded to shell-
ing with its own artillery. Fighting continued on and off until the end of the month.