A harsher, more severe Simla Agreement: Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

If you all would forgive me for quoting directly from Wikipedia:

"For Pakistan it was a complete and humiliating defeat, a psychological setback that came from a defeat at the hands of intense rival India. Pakistan lost half its territory, significant portion of its economy and its geo-political role in South Asia.Pakistan feared that the two-nation theory was disproved and that the Islamic ideology had proved insufficient to keep Bengalis part of Pakistan. Also, the Pakistani military suffered further humiliation by having their 90,000 prisoners of war (POWs) released by India only after the negotiation and signing of the Simla Agreement on July 2, 1972. In addition to repatriation of prisoners of war also, the agreeement established an ongoing structure for the negotiated resolution of future conflicts between India and Pakistan (referring to the remaining western provinces that now composed the totality of Pakistan). In signing the agreement, Pakistan also, by implication, recognized the former East Pakistan as the now independent and sovereign state of Bangladesh. The Pakistani people were not mentally prepared to accept defeat, the state-controlled media in West Pakistan had been projecting imaginary victories. When the surrender in East Pakistan was finally announced, people could not come terms with the magnitude of defeat, spontaneous demonstrations and mass protests erupted on the streets of major cities in West Pakistan. Also, referring to the remaining rump Western Pakistan as simply "Pakistan" added to the effect of the defeat as international acceptance of the secession of the eastern half of the country and its creation as the independent state of Bangladesh developed and was given more credence. The cost of the war for Pakistan in monetary and human resources was very high. Demoralized and finding himself unable to control the situation, General Yahya Khan surrendered power to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who was sworn-in on 20 December 1971 as President and as the (first civilian) Chief Martial Law Administrator. A new and smaller western-based Pakistan emerged on 16 December 1971.
The loss of East Pakistan had shattered the prestige of the Pakistani military. Pakistan lost half its navy, a quarter of its air force and a third of its army. The popularized myth that one Muslim had the fighting prowess of five Hindus no longer held any legitimacy. The war also exposed the shortcoming of Pakistan's declared strategic doctrine that the "defence of East Pakistan lay in West Pakistan". Hussain Haqqani, in his book Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military notes,
"Moreover, the army had failed to fulfill its promises of fighting to the last man. The eastern command had laid down arms after losing only 1,300 men in battle. In West Pakistan 1,200 military deaths had accompanied lack luster military performance."


Regarding the Simla Agreement

"The accord also gave back more than 13,000 km² of land that Indian troops had seized in West Pakistan during the war, though India retained a few strategic areas. But some in India felt that the treaty had been too lenient to Bhutto, who had pleaded for leniency, arguing that the fragile democracy in Pakistan would crumble if the accord was perceived as being overly harsh by Pakistanis and that he would be accused of losing Kashmir in addition to the loss of East Pakistan."


My question is that in spite of the magnitude of the victory, India was surprisingly restrained in its reaction. What-if India had asked for harsher terms from Pakistan?


a). Could India have settled once and for all the Jammu-Kashmir conflict between it and Pakistan?


b). Indian troops penetrated much Pakistan territory and in the end withdrew from over 13000 sq. kilometers of Pakistani territory. I cant find a map of such territory captures and later withdrawn from. Any chance of India keeping it?


c). Any reparations? After all Pakistan launched a first strike with hopes to cripple Indian air power by bombing Indian's airfields with minimal success. Could India have enforced an occupation of Pakistan until the indemnity was paid?



d).Involvement by other powers. Chinese, Soviet and American interests were represented across both sides of this conflict.



e). Any further speculation on this topic would be appreciated. What if India had taken a more heavy handed approach to Pakistan after the war
 
Top