LOC Full Form- What is the full form of LOC?

LOC stands for Line of Control. It is a 740 km long military control line or border which separates the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) from the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The line is generally covered with heavy coils of pointed wire like a kind of fence put in place by the Indian army. The line is guarded by the check posts of the Indian army in the Indian side of the LOC and by Pakistani check-posts in the Pakistani side of the LOC. Read on to find more valuable details about the establishment, disputes and settlement regarding LOC.

What is the full form of LOC?

LOC full form is Line of Control. Initially, it was known as a Cease-fire Line but after the Shimla Agreement on 3rd July, 1972, it was re-named as the ‘Line of Control’. 

The parts of Kashmir that are occupied by the Pakistan administration (POK) are known as Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Remaining Kashmir is under Indian control and is known as the state of Jammu and Kashmir. LOC is not a legally recognized international boundary but it is a de facto border.

As India shares a very large border with Pakistan and China, both these border areas of India have been extremely sensitive and often remain disputed. Sometimes, there have been wars in these areas and  there is often a tension situation on these borders. To prevent war, tensions or any dispute, ceasefire lines or control lines have been drawn along the borders separating the areas of the two countries, known as LOC and LAC respectively. The LOC lies between India and Pakistan while the LAC is the Line of Actual Control between India and China.

LOC Full Form- Details

However, LOC is not considered by the international community but is accepted by both countries. This border divides the parts of the Union Territory of India i.e. Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan. As per sources, the length of the LOC is approximately 776 km which was fraudulently taken over by Pakistan in 1947.

This border is clearly administered  by the military.  The northernmost point of the Line of Control is demarcated as NJ9842. India-Pakistan border continues from the southernmost point on the LoC.

The northernmost point of the line of control, known as NJ9842 and beyond which lies the Siachen Glacier became a point of contention in 1984. South of the Line of Control (Sangam, Chenab River, Akhnoor) is the border lying between Pakistan's Punjab and state of Jammu and has an ambiguous status. India sees it as an 'international border', whereas Pakistan calls it as labor borders. Another ceasefire line separates the Indian-controlled state of Jammu and Kashmir from a Chinese-controlled area known as Aksai Chin, which is a disputed territory. It is far in the east and is known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

History and the background of LOC

After the partition of India, modern-day India and Pakistan contested for the autonomy of  the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. India contested because of the ruler`s accession to the country and Pakistan because of the existence of a distinctive state's Muslim majority population. The ‘First Kashmir War’ in 1947 lasted more than 12 months until a ceasefire was announced via UN mediation. Significantly, both sides agreed on a ceasefire line. After some more rounds of Kashmir War in 1965 and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 (which notified Bangladesh to be an independent nation), the minor adjustments have been affected withinside the acceptance of unique ceasefire line. In the following Simla Agreement conducted in 1972, each international location agreed to transform the ceasefire line into a ‘Line of Control’ (LoC) and look at it as a de facto border that alarmed the nations to no longer violate the terms. The United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) was provided with the responsibility of investigating ceasefire violations (CFVs) but their function was reduced after 1971 was with Pakistan. In 2000, US President Bill Clinton cited the Indian subcontinent and the Kashmir Line of Control as one of the maximum risky locations withinside the world flaming the dispute in the international relation.

Major Intersections of the LoC

LoC intersection (near the intersection of Hajipur and Tattapani - Mendhar) in Pakistan and India formally specified five border crossings after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. According to Azad Jammu and the Kashmir Cross LoC Travel and Trade Authority Act of 2016 the following border crossings are listed which are the major point of intersections of the LoC:

• Rawalakot Pooch
• Chakothi- URI
• Chaliana-Tithwal
• Tatta Pani-Mendher
• Haji Peer Siri Kot

The Trade points include Chakothi - Salamabad and Rawalakot (Tatrinote) - Poonch (Chakkan-da-bagh). The regulation was passed in 2011.

Why is LoC being suspended?

LoC is being suspended due to the threat to the national security or risk of armed rebellion. However, the border dispute is always a threat and the sensitive area. The reasons of LoC suspension are given below:

1. The trading on LoC is being misused on a very large scale. It has been displayed that the trade has changed its nature to mostly third party trade and products from other regions, including foreign countries are finding their way through this route.
2. Unscrupulous and Anti National elements are using the route as a conduit for Hawala money, drugs and weapons under the garb of this trade.
3. Large number of trading concerns engaged in LoC trade are being operated by persons closely associated with banned terrorist organizations involved in fuelling terrorism/separatism.
4. Some individuals have crossed over to Pakistan, and joined the militant organizations. Trading firms set up by them are under the control of militant organizations and are engaged in LoC trade.

 Impact on LOC due to withdrawal of special status under Article 370

The constitutional amendment to Article 370 is being actively contested. But it doesn’t automatically impact the status of the LoC because domestic law of one country simply cannot amend a bilateral treaty without the consent of the other party.

The earlier amendments to Article 370 or the Gilgit Baltistan Order in 2018 by the Pakistan to begin the integration of Gilgit Baltistan into the federal structure of Pakistan and a step towards making it the country’s fifth province akin to Punjab or Sindh will not change the status of LoC because Article 4 (2) of the Simla Agreement which states as: “Neither side shall seek to alter it (the LoC) unilaterally, irrespective of mutual differences and legal interpretations. Both sides further undertake to refrain from the threat or the use of force in violation of this Line.”

The clarification from the Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed that the changes do not affect either the LoC or the Line of Actual Control which remains the disputed border with China running through Ladakh.

What is the Permanent status-quo of LoC?

Given the reality of ever-hardening territorial positions and increasingly polarized narratives within Jammu and Kashmir, the LoC is the only surviving political space where common ground can be found. That is precisely why the Four Point Formula, centered around opening up the LoC for trade, travel, religious tourism and people-to-people exchanges, has survived. It allows the historic identities, cultural and familial ties, and to a limited degree, political aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to be celebrated without asking either India or Pakistan to climb down from their respective legal and political positions.

The LoC can be changed in two ways: Bilateral agreement or an all-out war. In the current circumstances, the former is practically impossible when all diplomatic channels for dialogue are suspended. The latter is unlikely to produce a decisive victory and will inflict untold suffering on both sides especially on Kashmiris. Hence for time being the LoC can be seen as one with the status of permanent status quo.