Benazir Bhutto—Reconciliation, Islam, Democracy and the West, which was released in London on Tuesday, says the ISI tried to wreck the “budding relationship” between Benazir and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who were willing to “think out of the box” and break the stalemate in ties.
Bhutto wrote in the book she was proud of her work with Gandhi and they both were committed to improving ties between the two countries using the guidelines framed in the Shimla Accord but the ISI opposed their efforts.
"I am particularly proud of our work with Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, building on the progress in Pakistan-Indian relations that our parents had established in the Shimla Accord," Benazir wrote.
"Rajiv and I negotiated a remarkable treaty committing our nations not to attack each other's nuclear facilities. This was the first nuclear confidence-building treaty between Pakistan and India.”
Benazir claimed the 1972 Shimla Accord was "quite a triumph" for her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was then Prime Minister, because it enabled the return of lost territory to Pakistan without having to recognise Bangladesh or accept a no-war clause with India.
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